UAE holds first ‘Financial Dialogue’ with Israel

The UAE, represented by the Ministry of Finance, conducted the first ‘Financial Dialogue’ with Israel’s Ministry of Finance.

The dialogue session, held virtually on January 11, aimed to boost cooperation ties and encourage innovation in the field of financial services between the two countries, reported the state news agency, WAM.

Younis Haji Al Khoori, under-secretary of the Ministry of Finance, headed the UAE delegation, while the Israeli side was led by Shira Greenberg, chief economist, and director of State Revenue, Research, and International Affairs, Ministry of Finance. The delegations included senior officials from both sides.

In his address, Al Khoori welcomed all the participants, stressing the importance of the platform to exchange policies, regulations, and business priorities, while also exploring new avenues for bilateral cooperation.

He discussed the significant progress achieved between both ministries since the historic Abraham Accords Peace Agreement, the memorandum of understanding including the Bilateral Investment Treaty signed in October 2020, and the Double Taxation Agreements signed in May 2021, reported WAM.

He also mentioned how the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the UAE and Israel will further create new opportunities to develop priority sectors such as agri-tech, renewable energy and advanced technology.

Read: UAE, Israel sign comprehensive economic partnership agreement

Al Khoori noted that “in the UAE, and in-line with the global development agenda, we are actively exploring avenues to promote sustainable finance, which is an important strategic objective for the UAE as we seek to integrate global efforts within this area as part of our preparation for hosting COP28 this year”.

He said, “The topics we discussed are of great importance to both of our countries, given our shared positions as regional investment hubs and our aligned strategic objectives of encouraging innovation in our countries. The UAE-Israel Financial Dialogue brings together the ministries of finance and central banks, as we believe it is important to keep an open dialogue between both countries to discuss issues that impact our financial systems and potential areas of bilateral and regional cooperation.”

According to WAM, the dialogue session covered a number of issues related to macroeconomic trends and policies, means of cyber-financial cooperation, and opportunities for bilateral cooperation between the two countries at the regional and global levels, such as the World Bank and the Financial Action Task Force.