Scotland hosts UAE delegation to discuss renewable energy, technology

Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, led an Emirati delegation of business and investment leaders on a visit to Scotland, to discuss renewable energy projects and other potential areas of cooperation, such as science.

The delegation included Rashid Abdul Karim Al Balooshi, Under-Secretary of Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED), and Mansour Abdullah Khalfan Belhoul, UAE Ambassador to the UK.

In a bilateral meeting in Edinburgh, Dr Al Zeyoudi and Angus Robertson, Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs, and Culture, discussed the development of bilateral ties, the significance of their alliance, and their shared goals to advance cooperation.

Ivan McKee, Scotland’s Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism, and Enterprise, was another person Dr Al Zeyoudi met. The opportunity to strengthen important areas like tourism as well as the expanding commercial and investment links between Scotland and the United Arab Emirates were the main topics of discussion.

The Emirati delegation also met with Scottish Enterprise highlighting its efforts to modify via innovation and investment the economy of Scotland.

Meeting with Scottish Development International and its CEO Reuben Aitken was helpful because the company showed the rising developing space sector of the nation along with its potential for hydrogen production.

The delegation was also informed on various industrial success stories in Scotland like Storegga, a company that specialises in carbon capture, removal and storage. Another one is XLCC, a company that produces HVDC cables that run deep under the sea. The visit also included a tour of FinTech Scotland and Heriot-Watt University’s Industrial Decarbonisation Innovation and Research Centre.

Al Zeyoudi underlined his conviction that there are excellent opportunities to strengthen cooperation in important industries. He noted that the UAE intends to strengthen ties between the two parties to boost economic and trade cooperation, with an emphasis on cutting-edge technology, space exploration, and carbon neutrality. He stated that the collaboration between the UAE and Scotland has significant growth potential. Through Masdar, the UAE is already engaged in significant projects in Scotland, like the Hywind offshore wind farm.

One of the UAE’s top trading partners in the UK, as evidenced by the fact that bilateral non-oil trade between the two countries reached US$7.4 billion in the first nine months of 2022, an increase of 32% over the same period in 2021. The volume of trade also increased by 22.3% and 4.4% in the corresponding periods in 2020 and 2019, respectively.