The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is slated to participate in the 19th session of the Arab-German Business Forum, which opens in Berlin on Thursday.A UAE delegation, headed by Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, minister of economy, will attend the two-day forum. The UAE is Germany's main economic partner followed by Saudi Arabia and Egypt.More than 600 policy makers, business people and experts from both the Arab world and Germany are expected to take part in the forum to discuss ways of boosting Arab-German economic ties. The forum is organised by the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce in cooperation with the Arab League General Secretariat, General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture for Arab countries.
In a statement, Al Mansouri said bilateral relations between the UAE and Germany are growing consistently, especially on the trade and economic levels, especially given that both countries enjoy many promising industrial, investment and commercial opportunities.The minister also pointed to the remarkable growth rates and trade volume between the UAE and Germany, with non-oil trade between them reaching $15 billion in 2015. Germany is also the sixth most important trading partner of the UAE, and has a growth rate of 3 percent compared with 2014. Non-oil exports from the UAE to Germany during the same year totalled $485 million, growing by 8 percent compared with 2014, while re-exports from the UAE to Germany amounted to $672 million, a growth of 9 percent during the same period. Imports also grew by 2 percent.