(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM)) Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, and Michel Miraillet, Ambassador of France, today discussed areas of economic cooperation between the two countries and ways of boosting them.
The two sides discussed a number of economic issues of mutual interest, most notably the strengthening of cooperation in the small and medium enterprise sector, which is crucial for both sides.
Al Mansouri hailed the remarkable development in bilateral relations witnessed between the two countries, especially in the economic and trade fields, pointing out that trade volume between the two countries exceeded AED25.5 billion by the end of 2013.
He explained that there are 128 companies, 249 agencies and 8,155 trademark registered with the Ministry of Economy, confirming the outstanding economic relationship that combines the two friendly countries.
The UAE's Minister of Economy emphasised that the small and medium enterprise sector is a vital component of the national economy and pointed out that the wise leadership considers small and medium enterprises as a key supporter in promoting sustainable development and strengthening the UAE's competitiveness, both regionally and globally.
He pointed out that small and medium-sized companies form 92% of the total companies working in the country and contribute nearly 60% of the total GDP, with trends towards enhancing the contribution of this sector to reach 70% of the total national output by 2021.
The French Ambassador commended the care and attention small and medium enterprises are receiving in the country, stressing the keenness of the French side to encourage French owners of small and medium enterprises to direct their businesses to the United Arab Emirates.
The parties agreed to start preparing a Memorandum of Understanding to promote mutual cooperation between the two countries in the field of small and medium enterprises.
The meeting was attended by a number of officials.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.