The UAE calls for mobilizing international efforts to adopt an open and comprehensive global trading system based on pluralism, and it embraces modern technology to ensure the seamless flow of goods, products and services between parts of the world.

This came in a speech by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Thani Bin Ahmed Al-Siodi, while participating in the Group of Twenty Ministerial Meeting on Trade and Investment in the Indian city of Jaipur. Ministers responsible for foreign trade and investment to present a list of proposals aimed at advancing global trade, ensuring sustained economic growth and development for all countries in the long term.

During the meeting, Al-Siodi emphasized the UAE’s commitment to ensuring fair and comprehensive access to the global trading system for South Indian countries, stressing the role of trade as a catalyst for industrial production, job creation and knowledge transfer.

He called on the participants to embrace technology and the opportunities it offers to establish smart, efficient, integrated and sustainable supply chains.

As the UAE prepares to host the WTO’s 13th Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi in February 2024, he emphasized the UAE’s keenness to make progress on the WTO’s reform agenda.

Al-Zeyoudi said: “The Ministerial Meeting on Trade and Investment for the Group of Twenty is an important event to discuss global trade issues. His recommendations will help shape the governance of the multilateral trading system in the coming months and years. It is clear that we all share the same commitment to improve international supply chains, improve cross-border exchange, accelerate digitization and provide effective and transparent mechanisms of dispute resolution and arbitration. We look forward to presenting these recommendations and conclusions during the G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi next month, supporting any effort to finance a global trading system that can meet the needs of the twenty-first century.

Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal chaired the last meeting of the Group of Twenty trade and investment ministers ahead of the leaders’ summit in New Delhi next September.

Key outcomes developed by this year’s Trade and Investment Working Groups focused on five priorities: Trade for Growth and Prosperity, Trade and Resilient Global Value Chains, Integrating Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Global Trade, and Trade. logistics services, and reforming the World Trade Organization. The results of the meeting will be presented at the Leaders’ Summit on September 9 and 10.

The UAE participated in this global forum as an invited guest from India, which is chairing the current session of the Group of Twenty. The UAE’s invitation to participate in this important international event reflects the UAE’s growing position as a trusted trading partner for major and leading economies around the world, as non-oil trade between the UAE and G20 countries exceeds $341 billion. 2022, 55% of the total. The country’s non-oil foreign trade accounts for 43% of the UAE’s non-oil exports to G20 countries, with 39% re-exports from the UAE. In contrast, 67% of the UAE’s merchandise imports come from G20 countries.

The UAE’s non-oil trade with countries in this group increased by 21% in 2022 compared to 2021, as well as by 56% and 34% compared to 2020 and 2019, respectively.