The UAE participates in the G20 trade and investment ministers’ meeting in South Africa

Gkibirha – South Africa, 12 October / WAM / His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade, affirmed the UAE’s firm commitment to continuing to support open, rules-based trade as an essential driver for the long-term sustainable development of countries around the world.

This came during the participation of His Excellency, heading the UAE delegation, in the meeting of the G20 Trade and Investment Ministers held in the city of Gkibirha, South Africa.

The UAE is a reliable partner for the largest economies around the world, especially the G20 countries, as its non-oil foreign trade with the G20 countries exceeded 231.6 billion US dollars in the first half of 2025, a growth of 19.2% compared to the same period in 2024, and an increase of 3% compared to the second half of the same year, which confirms the continuation of the upward path of UAE-European trade flows that had begun years ago.

During the meeting, His Excellency reviewed the UAE’s continued efforts to call for finding cooperative solutions to the challenges currently facing global trade, including the need to strengthen and modernize supply chains, improve access to the global trading system and ensure its fairness.

The G20 Trade and Investment Ministers’ Meeting is the main dialogue platform in which member states discuss issues related to trade and investment, which will form the basis for discussions during the G20 Leaders’ Summit next November.

The UAE participated in this meeting as a guest at the invitation of South Africa during its presidency of the current session of the G20, where the country’s delegation, headed by His Excellency Dr. Al Zeyoudi, participated in a number of sessions on the role of industrialization in achieving sustainable development, the principles of trade and comprehensive growth, and the continuing need to reform the World Trade Organization.

In his interventions during the meeting, His Excellency stressed the importance of coordinating efforts and results between various international organizations to achieve a balanced global trading system, stressing the need to address development issues within trade policies to ensure that all countries benefit from global trade, in addition to supporting initiatives that push towards sustainable economic growth and enhance the ability to adapt economically.

He said: The G20 Trade and Investment Ministers’ Meeting is a pivotal forum to identify the challenges facing global trade and the solutions needed to address them. The UAE is committed to continuing to adopt policies that ensure supply chains remain open and available to all countries, and preserve the role of trade as a major driver of development and growth in the long term.

In a related context, a new international report on investment, issued by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, highlighted the importance of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements program that the UAE continues to implement as a model for advancing trade and facilitating investment in key sectors around the world, including clean energy, digital transformation, and public health.

The report – which South Africa requested to be prepared as part of its G20 presidency – highlighted the partnership agreements concluded by the UAE with India, Australia, Turkey and New Zealand as among the best practices that highlight the role of trade agreements in promoting constructive international cooperation and driving sustainable economic growth.

Since the launch of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements program at the end of 2021, the UAE has reached 31 trade agreements with countries with promising economies in a variety of the most prominent growth regions around the world.

During his interventions at the meeting, His Excellency Al-Zeyoudi indicated that the UAE launched talks to reach comprehensive economic partnership agreements with at least 10 African countries, and completed a number of them, which reflects the support of the UAE’s trade policy for value chains in the region. His Excellency also highlighted the UAE’s commitment to more than $16.8 billion in investments in renewable energy across 70 countries, stressing the importance of supporting sustainable industrialization and providing energy across all parts of the world. the world.

On the sidelines of the meeting, His Excellency Al-Zeyoudi held high-level bilateral meetings, which included discussions with the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, about the current situation of global trade, and prominent officials, including His Excellency Yoo Han Ko, Minister of Trade of South Korea; His Excellency Fuji Hisayuki, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and His Excellency Koga Yuichiro, Minister of State for Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan; His Excellency Maroš Šefčović, EU Trade Commissioner; The Honorable Maninder Sidhu, Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development of Canada; His Excellency Budi Santoso, Minister of Trade of Indonesia; Her Excellency Helene Budliger, Secretary of State for Trade of Switzerland. These meetings consolidated the UAE’s commitment to fostering international partnerships and increasing cooperation in trade and investment.

The G20 countries represent 85% of the global gross product, 75% of international trade, and two-thirds of the world’s population, and play an essential role in shaping the global economic landscape. In the first half of 2025, the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade with the G20 countries exceeded $231.6 billion, with a growth of 19.2%, which consolidates the country’s position as a global center for trade.

By the end of 2024, the total value of the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade exceeded $816.9 billion, an increase of 14.6% compared to 2023 and nearly five times the growth rate of global trade.

• For more: Follow Khaleejion 24 Arabic, Khaleejion 24 English, Khaleejion 24 Live, and for social media follow us on Facebook and Related