UAE – Mubasher: The UAE has invested nearly AED 64 billion (AUD 26 billion) in Australia, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack told Emirates News Agency (WAM) on Monday
McCormack also said that the bilateral ties between the two countries in areas, including trade and investment, defence, law enforcement, security, and consular cooperation are strong, WAM reported.
The two-way trade between Australia and the UAE has grown by 34% to AED 24 billion (AUD 9.8 billion) from AED18 billion (AUD7.3 billion) in 2017-2018, he highlighted.
This came on the sidelines of McCormack’s visit to the UAE to participate in the World Road Congress Abu Dhabi taking place from 6 to 10 October.
"Trade continues to grow in the key sectors of tourism, education and agriculture, and this is aided by over 100 direct flights between Australia and the UAE every week," McCormack said.
"We look forward to continued collaboration under the two MoUs between the UAE and Australia through the Australian Space Agency and the South Australian Space Industry Centre in the exploration and utilisation of outer space as well as joint scientific research and development of space technology," he added.
In February 2019, the UAE Space Agency and its Australian counterpart had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote closer international partnership in the space industry sector.
This MoU aims at tripling the size of the country’s space sector to AED 31 billion ($8.53 billion) per annum and to offer 20,000 new jobs by 2030, McCormack noted.
As for his participation at the World Road Congress in Abu Dhabi, McCormack said: "The World Road Congress provides a valuable platform for governments and businesses to share ideas and best practices initiatives."
