UAE Minister of Economy H.E. Eng. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori has urged the world’s governments to stand together to overcome the challenges of the international recession and to adapt to the new realities of the global economy.

 Speaking at the opening of first edition of the Middle East Summit Forum, organized by the Swedish Trade Council in Abu Dhabi, Al Mansoori said that the UAE was among the first countries in the region to have taken swift action to alleviate the impact of the global financial crisis.

“The UAE was one of the first economies in the region to take decisive steps to address the impact of the global financial crisis. While economists continue to debate how long the global financial crisis will last, we in the UAE, are convinced that the worst is already behind us. We have recently begun to see clear indications that the crisis is bottoming out,” Al Mansoori said.

“The UAE government's support commenced with the securing of deposits, financial support for the banking sector, the establishment of a committee for the management of crisis outcomes, and the implementation of a series of other appropriate measures, all of which have contributed significantly in absorbing the impact of the crisis and steering the nation’s economy toward recovery. As a result of these actions, we expect to see a definite upward trend in the next year,” he said.

Al Mansouri further stated that the global crisis has also created a number of opportunities, especially in the small and medium enterprises (SME) sector. The SME sector is widely regarded as a safe investment alternative for governments and businesses all over the world.

He went on to stress the importance of strengthening economic ties and boosting the process of experience exchange, with particular focus on such sectors as renewable energy, information technology and education, describing the latter as a cornerstone of the economy of knowledge.

Al Mansoori said that while UAE is keen to develop conventional economic sectors such as tourism, healthcare and education, the country is more aware now than ever before of the importance of developing the infrastructure of its economy of knowledge, adding that the UAE can benefit from the Swedish example in this regard. He praised Sweden for its support of SMEs, particularly in the renewable resources and industrial sectors.

The Minister said that he sees this forum as an important platform for exchanging information on how best to support SMEs through innovation and modern strategic planning, both of which are heartily encouraged by the UAE government. The Minister announced that the government is set to begin building national creativity centres toward this end.

“The first national creativity centre will be built in 2010. The centre will focus on environment, education, information technology and renewable resources,” he said.

Speaking on the bilateral relationship between the UAE and Sweden, Al Mansoori said, “The UAE and Sweden share a long history of healthy bilateral trade and cultural relations. We have a vibrant business community of Swedish entrepreneurs in the UAE, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their contributions to our economy”.

"Trade between the UAE and Sweden last year amounted to US$1.16 billion and the UAE is keen to increase these levels of trade in the years to come and to explore ways and opportunities to resolve the trade imbalance between our two countries,” he concluded.