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UAE Business Forum launched on sidelines of G20 meeting in Indonesia

Forum to explore emerging opportunities for cooperation between the business communities, and resulted in the signing of 16 Memoranda of Understanding

The UAE Business Forum was held on Sunday in Bali on the sidelines of the annual G20 meeting.

The forum, which brought together business leaders from both countries, was launched to explore emerging opportunities for cooperation between the business communities, and resulted in the signing of 16 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs).

The forum was one of the first major investment conferences to take place since the signing of the UAE-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership Agreement in July, and which is likely to be ratified in the coming weeks.

Among the 16 MoUs was a deal between G42 and its subsidiaries Presight.ai and G42 Healthcare with Indonesian healthcare AI firm Asaren, while Burjeel Holding Group signed an MoU to develop a healthcare facility through a strategic partnership with the Indonesian Mitra Jaya Group.

Etihad Airways, GAL/AMMROC and Sanad signed in MoUs in aircraft maintenance, with MoUs on electric mobility and defence agreements signed by BarQ EV and Lahab respectively.

Seven additional MoUs were signed around cooperation on the organisation of the 2023 Annual Investment Meeting in Indonesia in 2023.

Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State, and Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, as well as a group of senior officials, business leaders, heads of companies and representatives of business community organisations from the UAE and Indonesia, participated in the forum.

The UAE Business Forum in Indonesia aims to be a platform for networking and exchange of experiences between the business communities in the UAE and Indonesia. It also seeks to explore trade and investment opportunities in light of the upcoming implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

At the end of the forum, a number of cooperation agreements were signed between companies from both sides.

Commenting on the signings, Dr Al Zeyoudi said UAE-Indonesia relations have always been strong since their inception, but they have enjoyed additional momentum in recent years, with the establishment of constructive partnerships in vital sectors.

"Today’s MoUs go to show how our Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement has injected even more dynamism into our business relationships.”

He said that the boom in UAE-Indonesia relations was reflected in the growth of non-oil trade to a record $2.8 billion in the first nine months of 2022, an increase of 33 per cent compared to the same period of 2021, and a record growth of 104 percent compared to the same period of 2020.

“The UAE is among the top 20 trading partners of Indonesia and its second-largest trading partner in the Arab world, while the value of investment agreements signed between the two parties reached more than $32 billion since 2019,” he added.

Al Sayegh stated: “The UAE is keen to strengthen the bonds of constructive cooperation and consolidate common interests with Indonesia, which is the largest economy in South Asia, especially as this cooperation heralds promising prospects that constitute a source of economic and technological strength for the entire Islamic world.”

Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Indonesian Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, commented: “The UAE Business Forum, the MoUs signed today and the benefits that will spring from the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement will unlock incredible opportunities for business communities in the two countries.”

The forum kicked off with opening speeches by Abdullah Al Dhaheri, UAE Ambassador to Indonesia, Rashid Abdul Karim Al Balushi, Under-Secretary of the Department of Economic Development, Abu Dhabi, and Hussain Bagis, Indonesian Ambassador to the UAE.

This was followed by a panel discussion titled “The UAE: A Springboard to go Global” that focused on the remarkable advances made by the UAE economy over the past five decades, turning it into a major economic hub and a central gateway for the flow of trade and investment while adopting strategic plans aimed at empowering the private sector and attracting the best companies, minds and talents to go global.

Dr Al Zeyoudi and Pandjaitan delivered closing speeches at the forum, in which they stressed that UAE-Indonesia strategic relations are about to enter a new era of prosperity, with the imminent entry into force of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the two countries coming soon, and in light of the momentum in bilateral relations between the two business communities and the opportunities for collective growth. — Wam