WASHINGTON, DC, 30th June, 2022 (WAM) -- Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, discussed expanding UAE-US trade and commercial activity during bilateral meetings with Gina Raimondo, US Commerce Secretary, and Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan Governor, at SelectUSA Investment Summit, the largest Foreign Direct Investment gathering in the US.

Al Zeyoudi served as the UAE Government representative to SelectUSA, where he engaged with corporate leaders, industry experts, and exhibitors during his day-long visit to the conference.

The UAE’s extensive business delegation at this event included 19 companies and 24 delegates, plus representatives from the UAE Ministry of Economy.

Dr. Al Zeyoudi also attended the extensive programming seminars organised by SelectUSA featuring presentations delivered by US government and business leaders.

Al Zeyoudi also participated in a series of high-level events during his trip to Washington, DC. He delivered a keynote speech at a business luncheon hosted by the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, participated in a public discussion hosted by the Abraham Accords Peace Institute attended by experts from the think tank community, and met with congressional leaders from the newly formed Abraham Accords Caucus.

'Foreign Direct Investment from the UAE to the US was $44.7 billion in 2020 according to SelectUSA and that amount will only increase. Attending the SelectUSA Investment Summit only strengthened my government’s deep commitment to this market,' said Al Zeyoudi. 'During meetings with Commerce Secretary Raimondo and Michigan Governor Whitmer, we discussed opportunities to deepen this economic relationship with an emphasis on the tech sector and clean energy investments.'

In 2021, bilateral trade totaled $23.03 billion, with the US exporting more than $17 billion of goods and services to the UAE – a 16 percent increase from 2020. The resulting $11.13 billion trade surplus for the US is America’s sixth largest trade surplus globally. The trade relationship reflects the success of the UAE’s increasingly diverse economy, with non-oil sectors accounting for 70 percent of the UAE’s GDP.

Top categories of US exports in 2020 included: Electronics, nuclear materials, passenger vehicles, and aircraft and spacecraft. The UAE trades with all 50 US states and supports 123,000-plus American jobs, strengthening the importance of the continued bilateral trade relationship.

Al Zeyoudi also attended the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall. The festival, titled, 'United Arab Emirates: Living Landscape | Living Memory,' highlighted activities featuring UAE culture, art, music, and food. He also met with Emirati exhibitors and spoke with American sightseers during his visit to the festival.

Before arriving in Washington, the Minister of State for Foreign Trade traveled to Florida where he attended high level business development, networking events and meetings hosted by the U.S.-UAE Business Council, the International Trade Consortium (ITC), Enterprise Florida, a public-private partnership promoting economic development in Florida, and eMerge Americas, an organisation focused on establishing Miami as the tech hub of the Americas.

Al Zeyoudi met with Michael Udine, Broward County Mayor; Dean Trantalis, Ft. Lauderdale Mayor; Wayne Messam, Miramar Mayor; and Jose 'Pepe' Diaz, Miami-Dade County Commission Chairman.

The leaders discussed ways to enhance collaboration between the UAE and Florida, with a focus on investment, tourism, city planning, and healthcare.

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