First meeting of UAE-Poland Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation gets under way

The meeting, co-chaired by His Excellency Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori, UAE Minister of Economy, and His Excellency Janusz Piechocinski, Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, decided to strengthen mutual ties through coordinated efforts such as enhanced participation in international trade fairs and exhibitions in both countries, exchange of trade and business missions, and organising investment conferences and seminars.

H.E. Al Mansoori is accompanied at the meeting by a high level delegation, including H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Department of Civil Aviation, and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline & Group; H.E. Asem Mirza Al Rahma, Ambassador of the UAE to Poland; H.E. Mohammed Ahmed Bin Abdulaziz Al Shehhi, Undersecretary, UAE Ministry of Economy, and other dignitaries.

Recognising the Joint Commission as a major institutional contributor in boosting economic cooperation between the UAE and Poland, the co-chairs affirmed their commitment to drive forward activity through the Joint Commission meetings to deliver specific targets in the key sectors in both countries.

In order to create greater involvement of the business community in the process, the two countries also decided to encourage companies and business organisations, including chambers and associations, to strengthen their cooperation with each other.

"The UAE has gained considerable strength having overcome the challenges of the global economic downturn. In these times, I believe we need to stay on the path of innovation and partnerships because that is the key to building any nation's competitiveness. I am happy that the UAE and Poland have recognised this early on and we have been working together to steadily expand our bilateral economic," said H.E. Al Mansoori.

"Bilateral trade between the two countries has been growing since the end of the first phase of the global economic recession, exceeding $400m in 2011 and is expected to be $550m in 2012. However, the figure amounts to less than 1% of the respective global trade of the two countries, which shows the massive unrealised potential," H.E. Al Mansoori added.

The meeting acknowledged the existence of tangible opportunities to enhance bilateral investment ties through joint ventures and greenfield operations. The two countries also agreed to exchange information on investment opportunities and investment incentives, and cooperate on investment promotion activities, including investment seminars and investment promotion missions.

Al Mansoori highlighted the emphasis laid by the UAE Federal Government in the development of the small and medium enterprises (SME) sector as a strategic priority, and said the new SME Law was a key step in this direction.

The Joint Commission agreed to share policies and practices in SMEs, including management, policy and innovation through exchange of expertise.

The two countries also agreed to enhance cooperation and exchange investment information related to SMEs by holding investment fairs dedicated to SMEs and exchanging SME business delegations.

The meeting also agreed to foster cooperation in the development of renewable energy sources, particularly by supporting the initiatives of Abu Dhabi-headquartered International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

"The UAE is a major market for Polish exports, and we are keen to build on our existing ties to identify new potential areas of mutual cooperation. Poland has undertaken a number of actions to enhance trade and business activities in the past few years. I believe the Joint Commission will pave the way for adequate support from governmental institutions and agencies for companies and business organizations interested in launching new business initiatives," said H.E. Piechocinski.

Expressing Poland's interest in organising dedicated events in the UAE to promote its food specialities, beauty products and medical equipment, H.E. Piechocinski said Polish companies were ready to participate in the GulFood trade fairs - the biggest fair in the field of food and agriculture supplies in the Gulf area.

Welcoming Emirate's direct flight between Poland and the UAE, launched to coincide with the Joint Commission meeting, H.E. Piechocinski said the new flight will stimulate bilateral trade and facilitate economic cooperation between the two countries. He said Poland was keen to strengthen cooperation in the area of transportation, particularly maritime transport, and sought investments in Polish seaports.

H.E. Piechocinski added that Poland looked forward to work with UAE maritime institutions in the area of maritime education. The country also expressed interest in areas of academic and scientific cooperation and student exchange programmes in medical field.

The Joint Commission reiterated tourism as an important area of economic and trade cooperation and agreed to encourage cooperation between companies in the sector to increase mutual tourist inflows.

As part of the UAE delgation's visit to Poland, a Joint Business Forum which will contribute to deepening the awareness of business opportunities in both the countries and facilitating the networking and matchmaking meetings between the businesses from both countries.