UAE and Singapore deepen ties amid global supply chain shifts

FAB’s Middle East–Asia Summit in Singapore underscores how finance and innovation are reshaping ties between Asia and Gulf

Trade and partnership between the UAE and Singapore is rising with cross-border investment expanding, as both nations are positioning themselves as magnets for talent and innovation despite global volatility.

As global supply chains are reconfiguring and investors seek new stable bases, the economic relationship between Asia and the Middle East is getting stronger, executives at First Abu Dhabi Bank’s (FAB) Middle East-Asia Summit said on Thursday.

Hana Al Rostamani, FAB’s group chief executive, said in a statement that her bank alone handled over $80 billion in UAE–Asia investment last year, spanning energy, artificial intelligence and sustainable infrastructure.

Dr Brian Shegar, chief executive of ME Asia Consultancy and emeritus chairman of the UAE-Singapore Business Council, also highlighted the Gulf's strengthening ties with the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean), with trade flows between the regions reaching $132 billion in 2024, with a target of $180 billion by 2032.

Rising co-operation

Trade between the UAE and Singapore has been rising steadily.

Last year, total bilateral merchandise trade stood at $18.67 billion, with non-oil trade accounting for more than one third, Enterprise Singapore reported. In 2023, UAE exports to Singapore were worth about $3.34 billion, said Trading Economics, using data from the UN Comtrade database, while exports in the opposite direction reached about $5.4 billion.

“In the UAE, our trade flows amounted last year to about $25 billion," Dr Shegar said. "The UAE has the biggest investment in Singapore among Asean and, conversely, Singapore has the largest amount of investment in the UAE across the GCC,” he told The National at the FAB summit.

Investment from Singapore in the Emirates climbed from $2.7 billion in 2021 to $3.03 billion in 2022, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

More than 600 Singapore-based firms now operate in the UAE across FinTech, health care, education and infrastructure. The UAE is a regional launchpad for Singaporean firms targeting the Middle East and Africa, while Singapore provides Gulf companies with a financial and logistics base for Asia.

Strategic growth

The UAE is boosting its global trade and investment ties as it rapidly pivots beyond hydrocarbons. The country's non-oil foreign trade rose by 24 per cent annually in the first six months of 2025, reaching Dh1.7 trillion ($462.8 billion), double the level from five years ago.

Singapore’s economic growth also remains steady, with investment commitments reportedly totalling $10.48 billion in 2024, led by high-tech manufacturing and life sciences, the Singapore Economic Development Board said.

The next phase in the UAE-Singapore corridor centres on finance and innovation, some expert have forecast. Since 2013, Gulf countries have benefited from duty-free access to Singapore under free-trade accords.

“Singapore is FAB’s first and key location in Asia, reinforcing its role as a strategic gateway for Middle East–Asia connectivity," Ms Al Rostamani said.

The Asia House Middle East Pivot to Asia 2024 report projects that Gulf-Emerging Asia trade will reach $682 billion by 2030, up from $451 billion in 2023, based on a 7.1 per cent average annual growth rate between 2010 and 2023.

Talent shift

Separately, participants at the FAB Middle East-Asia Summit said the Gulf and South-east Asian countries are positioned to take advantage of new US recruitment restrictions issued last week.

US President Donald Trump announced late last week that the country would impose a $100,000 fee on overseas workers.

“The H-1B visa situation in the US is an opportunity, because both the Middle East and South-east Asia will need talents to grow their AI capability,” Sandiaga Uno, founder of Saratoga Investama Sedaya, told The National.

“The war on talent will intensify. We must open our regions to talent, entrepreneurship and investment.”

This aligns with Singapore’s established innovation network and the UAE’s push into AI, FinTech and digital finance, making both natural magnets for global talent, he added.