According to Amac News: citing the UAE state news agency WAM, the two ministers discussed new ways to strengthen trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.
They reviewed areas of cooperation to promote sustainable economic growth and emphasized strengthening private sector partnerships in priority sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, renewable energy, infrastructure, transportation and tourism.
Al Zeyoudi noted the importance of Croatia as a strategic partner in the UAE’s efforts to expand economic interactions with Europe, and said that strengthening global trade and economic relations is among their strategic priorities.
He also noted the significant growth in non-oil trade with Croatia, saying that this demonstrates the dynamism of their economic relations and paves the way for broader trade and investment opportunities.
Šušnjar also spoke about the UAE’s active role in strengthening bilateral relations. He cited it as a successful example of strong economic cooperation between the two countries, saying that this cooperation can lead to mutual growth and sustainable benefits for both countries.
The conversation also highlighted the rapid growth in non-oil trade between the two countries, which reached $110.7 million in 2023, an increase of 4% compared to the previous year. The main factors behind this growth were a 265% increase in re-exports from the UAE to $15.65 million, as well as a 12% increase in UAE exports to Croatia to $43.03 million.
This trend continued into the first half of 2024. During this period, bilateral trade increased by 44.8 percent to $78.9 million compared to the same period in 2023. This strong growth was driven by a significant increase in imports, which increased by 84.2 percent to $50.1 million, as well as re-exports, which grew by 83.4 percent to $8.4 million.