The UAE lies at the heart of a strategic, geographic crossroads where trade, commerce and diverse cultures have co-existed and interacted for hundreds of years. The UAE also sits at the center of the world’s fastest-growing markets, connected by world-leading airlines, seaports, data centers and telecommunication infrastructure. The UAE’s economic business environment is characterized as dynamic, prosperous, and attractive to direct foreign investments, ranking first amongst Arab nations and holding an advanced position globally as a modern financial, trading and economic hub.
Economic ties between Finland and the UAE have been on a growth trajectory and the UAE has a keen interest in further strengthening commercial cooperation with Finland.
Total bilateral trade reached EUR 692 million (2023), which makes the UAE Finland's largest export partner and import partner in the Gulf region.
Exports grew by 89% between 2021 and 2023 and for the same years, re-exports grew with 151%, imports with 36% and the non-oil trade volume with 22%.
The UAE and Finland have a significant number of overlapping economic priority sectors, including advanced technology and industries, energy, sustainability and renewables.
There currently are around 70 Finnish businesses operating in the UAE, and around 6 Emirati businesses in Finland.
The first Joint Committee Meeting between the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Finland took place on 27 January 2021.
In 2022, the UAE Assistant Minister for Economic Affairs, together with an accompanying economic delegation visited Finland.
In May 2022, the UAE and Finland signed an MoU aimed to develop technical and economic cooperation in the energy sector and to promote market access.
In light of their growing bilateral relations, the two sides decided in December 2023 to work on the establishment of a Joint Business Council.
In May 2024, Nokia launched an Open Innovation Lab in Dubai to drive regional innovation and accelerate the adoption of AI/ML technologies for network automation.
Curious about the opportunities for Finnish companies in the UAE? Read the interview with HE Amna Fikri for FinnCham here.
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