UAE, Sri Lanka bilateral trade reach USD 2.7 Bn in 2020-21

The 51st National Day of the United Arab Emirates was held at the Shangri-La Hotel on December 1 with the participation of local and foreign dignitaries. Here  Chief Guest Environment Minister Naseer Ahamed along with Ambassador of the UAE, Khaled Nasser Alameri, Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara, Minister of Transport, Highways and Mass Media, Dr. Bandula Gunawardena, State Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion, Jagath Pushpakumara, State Minister of Rural Economy Kader Masthan and former Mayor of Colombo A J M Muzammil at the event. Pictures by Wimal Karunathilaka

Despite challenging economic conditions, the UAE direct investments in Sri Lanka exceeded USD 19 million during 2020 and 2021, and bilateral trade amounted to USD 2.7 billion during the same period, Khaled Nasser Alameri, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Sri Lanka told the 51th National Day celebrations of the United Arab Emirates held in Colombo on Thursday.

The UAE is one of the leading sources of foreign direct investment in Sri Lanka and is one of the largest trading partners in the Middle East with a trade exchange representing more than half of Sri Lanka’s trade with the region, he said.

Ambassador Alameri said humanitarian organizations in the UAE continued to provide a substantial amount of aid and humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka in order to uplift the life of the underprivileged. This year alone a total number of 6,867 families and around 35,000 individuals have benefited from the distribution of dry rations, food packs, clothing and other humanitarian aid, in different parts of Sri Lanka.

“I would also like to commend the people-to-people relations between the two nations and the contribution of the Sri Lanka community in the UAE, as well as the continuous air and freight services between the two countries. Cooperation in the field of tourism is also flourishing and the recently concluded MoU between Emirates Airlines and the Sri Lankan Tourism Development Authority has contributed towards promoting the Sri Lankan tourism industry,” he said.

The Ambassador said there was no doubt that the exchange of mutual visits and the signing of business and investment agreements will open broader horizons for strengthening relations between the two countries.

“We are also looking forward to convening the Joint Committee between the two countries and strengthening cooperation in the field of energy, especially renewable energy, which can bring long-term benefits to Sri Lanka,” he said.

Alameri said the UAE has set a goal to reach zero carbon emissions by 2050 as a part of its vision to support the use of clean energy.

The UAE is preparing to host COP28 in 2023 to advance climate diplomacy and achieve the aspirations of the country as well as the international community in addressing the threats of climate change.

UAE’s commitment to creating a diversified mix of energy sources and capacity building in the field of clean energy is manifested in hosting the headquarters of the international Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) operating three of the largest and less expensive solar energy projects in the world ad nuclear power plants and investing in renewable energy projects in more than 70 countries.

UAE also launched the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC) at COP27, in partnership with Indonesia and the participation of Sri Lanka, as part of its global efforts to enhance biodiversity and highlight nature based solutions to overcome the effects of climate change.

The Ambassador said the UAE was a strong believer in harnessing the benefits of information technology and artificial intelligence and established the first university in the world for artificial intelligence in Abu Dhabi.

He said in the space sector, the UAE is continuing its passion and interest in this ambitious and advanced science and is preparing to launch a spacecraft to the moon next November.

“On this occasion, I would like to hail the outstanding and cordial bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates. These relations found their roots in the principles of cooperation and mutual respect, and has reached, in recent years, great levels of partnership between the two friendly countries, in various dimensions, such as trade, investment, exchange of knowledge and culture, Ambassador Alameri added.

Naseer Ahmed Minister of Environment attended the event as the chief guest.

Vignettes of the event. Pictures by Wimal Karunathillake