UAE holds first Investopia Europe in Milan as it seeks to boost FDI

The Emirates aims to attract $150bn in investment through the platform by 2031

Abdulla bin Touq, Minister of Economy and chairman of Investopia, urged investors from Europe to seek opportunities in the Emirates. Pawan Singh / The National

The inaugural edition of the UAE investment conference Investopia Europe was held in Milan as the Emirates seeks to use the platform to boost foreign direct investment into the country.

More than 350 leaders, businessmen, investors, entrepreneurs and economists from Italy, other parts of Europe and the UAE attended the event on Friday.

“Since its launch by the UAE government in September 2021, Investopia has been dynamising business and investment communities,” Abdulla bin Touq, UAE Minister of Economy and chairman of Investopia, told Wam.

“It has been able to achieve considerable success in facilitating dialogue and ties between government leaders, businessmen, investors, entrepreneurs, investment funds, as well as academic and research institutions, while also highlighting promising trade and investment prospects and opportunities around the world.”

Investopia is one of the events under the Projects of the 50 initiative announced by the UAE government in 2021 to accelerate the nation’s growth over the next five decades.

Investopia Europe marked the eighth edition of its global dialogues series and was the inaugural event in the region.

During the event, the UAE's Sharaf Group signed a memorandum of understanding with Italy's Smag company that is aimed at boosting trade and investment co-operation between the two countries in several key areas, including air and sea freight services, warehousing, and logistics services.

The Emirates aims to attract Dh550 billion ($149.77 billion) in FDI through the Investopia platform by 2031.

The UAE economy grew 7.6 per cent in 2022, the highest in 11 years, after growth of 3.9 per cent in 2021, the Central Bank said.

Its economy is projected to grow by 3.9 per cent in 2023 and 4.3 per cent in 2024, the regulator said.

The country aims to double the size of its economy to Dh3 trillion by 2031 with a focus on boosting non-oil exports and the tourism sector.

Mohammad Al Gergawi

Emirati Minister of Cabinet Affairs Mohammad Al Gergawi. UAE Government Media

At Investopia Europe, Mr bin Touq called on attendees to explore investment opportunities in the Arab world’s second-largest economy and to capitalise on the advantages offered by the country’s business and investment environment.

The UAE delegation to Italy included 50 members from the public and private sectors.

Last week, the UAE and Italy held talks in Milan ahead of the event aimed at boosting economic relations and creating new investment opportunities.

Mr bin Touq urged Italy's private sector to seek opportunities in the UAE and highlighted the incentives offered by the country to boost growth through platforms such as Investopia as well as comprehensive economic partnership agreements.

The UAE has signed Cepa deals with India, Israel, Indonesia and Turkey so far, with plans to sign a total of 26 such agreements.

Updated: May 21, 2023, 1:17 PM