Emirati amb.: Egyptian minds helped UAE achieve glory

CAIRO – 28 August 2018: Juma Mubarak al-Junaibi, UAE ambassador to Egypt and Permanent Representative to the Arab League, praised the Egyptian people, saying that Egyptian minds helped the UAE achieve the glory.

Meeting with Egyptian Local Development Minister Mahmoud Shaarawy in Cairo on Monday, Junaibi said that President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and his government exert great efforts to serve Egyptian citizens and meet their aspirations.

Junaibi affirmed that the relation between the two countries sets an example for successful cooperation between Arab states to serve the Arab people.

The two officials met to discuss ways to support and strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the field of local development.

Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have long maintained special relations, Egyptian Ambassador to the UAE Wael Gad said in February.

In a phone-in with TV program "Sabah Dream", Gad added that the distinguished Emirati-Egyptian relations are embodied in the regular high-level exchange visits.

Economic cooperation

The UAE was among the top Arab states that supported Egypt’s economy after the June revolution and offered great financial support.

Former Trade Minister Tarek Kabil said in January that trade relations between Egypt and the UAE are significantly developing with the trade balance tilting in favor of Egypt to reach $1.5 billion in 2017, compared to $1.4 billion in 2016.

Egyptian exports to the UAE increased significantly during the first half of 2017 to hit $1.204 billion, up from $1.126 billion during the same period of 2016, marking a 7 percent increase.

According to data from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), the volume of trade exchange between Egypt and the UAE during the first nine months of the fiscal year 2016/17 increased by $300 million to reach $4.6 billion.

The volume of Egyptian exports to the UAE increased by 14 percent during the period from June 2016 to March 2017 to stand at about $2.3 billion, up from $1.8 billion during the same period a year earlier.

Meanwhile, Egyptian imports from the UAE decreased to reach $2.2 billion in the first nine months of 2016/17, compared to $2.7 billion during the same period of 2015/16, according to the CBE.

Egypt's main exports to the UAE include appliances, furniture, fruits and vegetables, medical supplies, copper products, clothing, marble and cables.

The UAE is ranked first on the list of countries that have established investments in the Egyptian market with $6.2 billion in total investment, distributed over 868 projects in the fields of communication, banking, real estate, tourism and information technology.

Signaling a strong economic relationship, both countries signed many cooperation agreements that kept this relationship thriving.

Among the most prominent agreements between both countries is the agreement signed in March 2015 between the Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Hussein al-Nowais of al-Nowais Investments, an investment company headquartered in Abu Dhabi, to produce energy from a coal-operated power plant.