Saudi Arabia and UAE sign 20 deals and announce 44 joint projects

Jeddah- Saudi Arabia and UAE have signed 20 bilateral agreements and announced 44 joint projects. The deals came after Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin chaired the first meeting of the Saudi-Emirati Coordination Council in Jeddah.

During the meeting, the Saudi-Emirati Coordination Council’s Organizational Structure was declared with the objective of accelerating joint co-operation on the implementation of targeted projects and programs.

The Council’s vision aims to promote the two countries’ global stature in areas of economy, human development, and political, security and military integration as well as ensuring welfare and happiness for their peoples.

Established under an agreement between the two countries reached in May 2016 under the directives of UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed and Saudi King Salman, the council stands as a role model for cooperation between world countries and in the meantime consolidates joint action between GCC states.

At the end of the meeting, both leaders signed the minutes of the council’s maiden meeting.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) today announced adoption of a joint strategic strategy for integration between the two countries in the areas of economy, development and military through 44 projects. This strategy is called "Ala'azm (Determination) Strategy", which was discussed by 350 officials from the two countries from 139 governmental, sovereign and military bodies within 12 months. The strategy focused on three main pillars: economy; human and knowledge; and politics, security and military.

The announcement of the strategy is coincided with the first meeting of the Saudi-Emirati Coordination Council co-chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Defense, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

The leaders of the two countries have determined 60 months to implement the strategy's projects aiming to build an exceptional integrated model between the two countries that supports the march of joint GCC cooperation and contributes to protecting the gains and interests in addition to creating new opportunities for the two brotherly peoples.

The Saudi-Emirati Coordination Council adopted in Jeddah yesterday the strategy of resolve and the joint work mechanism during the next five years between the two countries, whereas the strategy includes three main axes including economic axis, human and knowledge axis, and security and military axis, as well as 60 joint projects out of 175 projects aimed at strengthening cooperation between the two countries and supporting the system of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for Arab States.

On the sidelines of the first meeting of the Saudi-Emirati Coordination Council, 20 memorandums of understanding were signed between the two countries to implement the projects of the Strategy of Resolve on the three major axes.

The economic axis outlines a number of joint projects between the two countries, including:

- Launching the policy of empowering the banking sector to enable branches of banks in the two countries to enhance their business and benefit from the available growth opportunities, and facilitate the work procedures in both countries.

- Exchange of experiences in the field of modern financial technology to identify opportunities and challenges.

- Sharing experiences in the insurance sector to improve and support insurance markets in terms of products, pricing and regulatory mechanism.

- Sharing experiences in infrastructure management.

- Sharing experiences in the field of safety and road maintenance.

- Establishment of a joint investment fund to invest in small and medium-sized enterprises of the emerging industrial sectors in partnership with the private sector.

- Activating value-added manufacturing industries in combination with existing industries to support manufacturing industries and implement them through small and medium enterprises in the fields of iron, aluminium and petrochemicals.

- Building a precise and standardized industrial database as well as standardization of coding systems for industrial goods and services.

- Conducting a joint exercise between the two parties to test the supply security system in key sectors.

- Developing a strategic medical stock plan, establishing a joint plant for the manufacture of sensitive medical drugs, and establishing a joint reference laboratory to achieve safety standards in this field and exchange experiences, cadres and medical staff in the field of emergency and crisis.

- Joint cooperation in the field of taxation.

- Facilitating the exercise of economic activities and exchange of investment opportunities through the establishment of a dedicated office to facilitate the economic activities, and the establishment of a unified electronic portal linking the two countries to follow-up on complaints and suggestions concerning the common customs and markets.

- Facilitating the flow of traffic in the ports by addressing the obstacles facing the flow of traffic and trade across borders and propose necessary solutions.

- Establishing a joint venture company for agricultural investment, with a capital of 5 billion dirhams, to contribute to the provision of imported commodities to both countries and achieve sustainable food security.

- Adopting a unified strategy for food security in both countries to harness productive resources (agriculture, livestock and fisheries) and work on joint strategic projects to enhance future food security of the two countries.

- Establishment of a research center to develop and localize desalination technologies to study the application of desalination techniques and the conversion of moisture into water using renewable energy and to consider the utilization of thermal energy for evaporation and desalination processes.

- Establishment of a Council for Environmental Excellence to protect the environment and wildlife between the two countries, for the purpose of unifying environmental efforts and international positions and standardizing the linking and monitoring processes in various environmental fields.

- Establishment of the Saudi-Emirati Investment Fund for Renewable Energy to attract large and start-up companies and supporting them in funding research and development projects.

- Implementation of the Gulf electrical interconnection system, in order to benefit from the productive capacity of energy to both countries.

- Exchange of experiences in the nuclear energy sector.

- The launch of a common vision and identity of tourism and national heritage of the two countries, in order to attract more tourists to the region and to develop programs to optimize the potential of tourism and heritage of both countries.

- Harmonisation of regulations, procedures and legislation between the two countries on entrepreneurship and small and medium enterprises.

- The establishment of an investment advisory board, with the aim of cooperation and transfer of knowledge in the field of foreign investments and coordination, and the development and expansion of relations and networks in the investment community, in addition to strengthening cooperation between the Saudi investment companies and strategic companies.

- Cooperation in creating investment opportunities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

- Developing government services and transferring experiences between the two countries, and identifying development opportunities for laws and procedures.

- Developing the security of government services, through the formation of a joint team to respond, building capacity, and dealing with the electronic security of government services.

- Developing knowledge exchange platforms for educational and training services.

- Launching the innovative housing solutions program to reduce / eliminating restrictions (legislative, financing and procedural) that slow down the development of housing services and reduce the challenges facing the sector.

- Launching the residential welfare program for the citizens of the two countries, with the aim of stimulating and motivating the financing agencies to provide integrated housing products to citizens, attracting modern construction techniques and encouraging local manufacturing, as well as developing the necessary legislations and guarantees to stimulate the residential sector.

- International joint investment in the oil, gas and petrochemical sector.

- Cooperate in applications to convert carbon dioxide into petroleum products.

- Cooperation in the research and development of various applications related to the oil, gas and petrochemical sector.

The Human and Knowledge axis aims to create and effective and integrated educational system for both countries to prepare highly qualified generations of citizens. It focuses on the following fields: higher education, research cooperation, public education and technical education.

Projects in this axis include:

- Cooperation between institutions of higher education through the development of a joint plan to promote common programs between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE universities to enable students to benefit from educational institutions in both countries.

- Developing early childhood policy, with the aim of building common early childhood standards that are consistent with international standards.

- Launching the digital education system, which includes a complete digital file for each learner (academic, health, etc.) that enables him/her to explore the future of each career sector and set expectations for learner’s academic and professional path based on artificial intelligence systems.

- Establishing the Saudi-Emirati Committee for Technical Education Policy, which is responsible for the harmonization of strategies, standards and professional qualifications between the two countries. The policy will also provide databases for future training needs and sharing experiences in public and private sector partnerships.

- Establishing a virtual college to provide appropriate technical disciplines, aiming to create a global Arab smart platform that includes training programs and materials (project management, industrial safety and inspection training), virtual exercises (such as special exercises for people with special needs), and technical and vocational qualifications required by the labour market in both countries.

- Promoting innovation in technical education by creating a common platform that includes innovations and creations.

The cooperation in the political, security and military axis aims at enhancing cooperation and integration between the two countries in the political, security and military fields, thus maintaining the sovereignty of both nations regionally and globally. It focuses on the cooperation and integration in following areas: military, political, and security.

This axis includes a number of initiatives such as the joint manufacturing of ammunition, light weapons, vehicles, and electronic shooting systems, as well as cooperation and coordination in foreign military assistance, cooperation in the maintenance of military systems, and standardization of the military industry.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates share a solid political and economic partnership, with a deep heritage and deep-rooted ties between the peoples of the two countries. The establishment of the Saudi-Emirati Coordination Council aims to maintain and further enhance these ties. The two countries' economies are worth one trillion dollars (the largest in the Middle East), and their exports make them one of the top ten exports in the world, with a value of more than $700 billion. The volume of non-oil trade between the two countries is worth $24 billion, while imports totaled nearly $550 billion.