UAE Delegation Attends Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong

The Third Belt and Road Summit, held in Hong Kong welcomed more than 5000 participants from 55 countries. The UAE attended with a high-level delegation led by Abdullah Al Saleh, Under-Secretary for Foreign Trade Affairs at the Ministry of Economy, according to WAM.

The delegation is said to have consisted of top federal and local entities, and Al Saleh emphasised UAE’s continued commitment to the Belt and Road Initiative, and the promotion of trade opportunities between the two countries.

According to WAM, Al Saleh said: "UAE is the only Arab country participating in the summit in acknowledgement of our being Hong Kong’s largest export market in the Middle East and China’s first non-oil trade partner, in the region.

"The strategic position boasted by the UAE as a global logistics and transshipment corridor to MENA Region and a transportation hub between East and West, enables the country to further bolster its contributions to the ambitious Belt & Road Initiative."

Hong Kong’s exports to the UAE reached US$2,322 million in the first quarter of 2018, and UAE is currently Hong Kong's largest export market in the Middle East.

Read more: UAE Key to One Belt One Road Vision