Spanish Embassy hosts UAE Business Forum presided by His Majesty Juan Carlos I, The King of Spain

He was accompanied by the Spanish Foreign Minister, Mr. Miguel Ángel Moratinos, the Spanish Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Mr Miguel Sebastián, the President of the Spanish Confederation of Enterprises (CEOE), Mr Gerardo Díaz Ferrán, the UAE Minister of Economy, Mr Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, and the President of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Salah Salem bin Omair Al Shamsi.

The event, organised by the Economic and Commercial Office of Spain in the UAE, the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX), and the CEOE, took place at the Emirates Palace Hotel, with the presence of the delegates of top Spanish companies and a big number of invitees from the growing Spanish community in the UAE.

The speeches were followed by a lunch offered by INTERES, the Spanish Agency for Direct Foreign Investment.

His Majesty the King Juan Carlos started his speech by honouring the prominent role played by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, with whom the King had a close friendship, in the creation of the modern and highly developed country in which the UAE has become.

He emphasized the economic performance of both countries, stating that, even if the economic bilateral relations are already strong, UAE and Spain 'have still a long way to go' in further strengthening their huge potential and common grounds for economic cooperation.

The Spanish Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Mr Miguel Sebastián, focused his speech on the excellent performance that the Spanish economy and companies have achieved in the last years, highlighting that Spain is the world's eighth largest economy and one of the biggest international investors.

He also referred to the Spanish companies' successful internationalization process, which has made it possible that Spain is today a world reference in renewable energies, that 'two out of five planes operate through Spanish management systems', or that Spanish infrastructure companies are being awarded huge concessions for the construction of major roads worldwide.

He also emphasized Spain's position as a 'gateway to business in South America, a region where Spain is the second largest investor'.

Spain's official relations with the UAE have been recently boosted by the Spanish government's efforts.

In that sense, Mr Sebastián's predecessor, Mr Joan Clos, visited the UAE last year to culminate both countries' agreement to avoid double taxation, and to sign a MoU on technical cooperation.

Spanish interest on a bigger economic cooperation was shared by Mr Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, and Mr Salah Salem bin Omair Al Shamsi, who invited the Spanish companies to include more UAE counterparts in their investment portfolio.

They expressed their deep gratitude for the King's and the Spanish delegation visit, the first since 1981, and encouraged the Spanish delegation to hold this kind of events on a more regular basis.

On the sidelines of the event, a series of workshops on the most relevant sectors of interaction between the Spanish and Emirati companies were held in different rooms within the premises of the Emirates Palace.

The sectors involved in these specialized workshops were: construction, infrastructures, energy and renewable energy, water and electricity, transport and banking.

Some of the most widespread remarks and questions made by the Spanish delegates in the different workshops were focused on the UAE laws on the ownership of foreign companies.

In that sense, the proliferation of free zones that allow 100% ownership was generally described by some Spanish participants as a great opportunity to enter the UAE market.