Bilateral trade and investment flows between the United Arab Emirates and Hainan province continue to deepen and diversify, said Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE's minister for foreign trade, in his welcoming address to a Hainan delegation on Friday.
The delegation conducted economic, trade, and cultural exchange activities in the UAE from Wednesday to Friday, aiming to promote bilateral cooperation in fields such as trade, industry, culture, tourism and sci-tech.
They visited the Jebel Ali Free Zone, Abu Dhabi ports, Abu Dhabi International Airport and the Dubai Duty-Free area of Dubai International Airport and held the China·Hainan Free Trade Port-UAE Promotion Conference on Friday, under the theme "Exchanging new development, sharing new opportunities".
During the conference, Hainan province and the UAE signed four major private-sector agreements that aimed at boosting the rapidly expanding bilateral trade and investment ties.
The agreements included a memorandum of understanding between Ajlan & Bros Holding, Hainan Airlines Holding and Yangpu Economic Development Zone Management Committee; a cooperation framework agreement between the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones (DIEZ) and Hainan Airport Infrastructure Co; a global strategic partnership between Fusion Specialized Shipping and Logistics LLC, Hainan GLA and Hainan Logistics Group; and a strategic cooperation agreement between UAS International Trip Support and the Hainan Bureau of International Economic Development.
"The Hainan Promotion Conference in Dubai and the agreements we have concluded reflect the growing synergies that exist between our two thriving economies," said Al Zeyoudi.
Liu Xiaoming, governor of Hainan province, noted that the UAE joined the BRICS group last month, and next year China and the UAE will celebrate their 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
"We wish to join hands with our UAE partners to promote high-quality development, while engaging in the Belt and Road Initiative. I believe that together we will accomplish fruitful outcomes in areas such as free-zones, connectivity, finance, trade and other industrial cooperation," he said.
