Economic and Trade Relations Between UAE and Economic Blocs

The UAE's main exports to the Japanese market are petroleum. Petroleum exports account for 98.5% of the UAE's total exports to Japan. Meanwhile, Japan's exports to the UAE are mainly machinery (mainly used in the oil and gas industry), electrical and electronic equipment, as well as medical equipment and pharmaceuticals, etc. Japan is also the largest supplier of telephones, camcorders, cameras and other recording equipment to the UAE.

2.4 UAE - India Relations:

India was also one of the earliest countries to establish diplomatic relations with the UAE. On the political front, both sides are committed to maintaining peace and political stability in the region.

Bilateral trade relations between India and the UAE have increased significantly in recent years. India's exports to the UAE market increased at a fairly rapid rate, from 3.3 billion USD in 2002 to 8.5 billion USD in 2005. India's imports from the UAE also grew at a similar rate, from 956 million USD (in 2002) to 4.3 billion USD (in 2005). Investment relations between the UAE and India have also developed quite positively. Currently, there are up to 600 Indian companies operating in many fields such as steel production, cement, food processing, information technology, etc. present at JAFZ. In addition, India is also one of the largest labor suppliers to the UAE. The Indian community in the UAE in 2005 reached 1.3 million people. The majority of Indian workers in the UAE are unskilled workers, doing jobs such as construction workers, farm workers, and domestic helpers; about 30% are highly skilled and technical workers working in professions such as doctors,

professors, IT experts, legal consultants, and a significant number of businessmen.

The prospect of developing and expanding trade and investment relations between the UAE and India is very positive because India is a country with a high growth rate (8%) and India has also signed an FTA with the GCC .

3. Economic and trade relations between the UAE and economic blocs

3.1 UAE - European Union (EU) Trade Relations

The European Union (EU) is an intergovernmental organization of European countries, established with its current name under the Treaty on European Union in 1992, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty. Currently, the EU has 25 member states with an area of ​​4 million km² and a population of 455 million people; GDP per capita is 21,100 USD/year. 7

Trade relations between the UAE and the EU began to develop in 1989 when the EU (then EC) and the GCC (of which the UAE was a member) signed a Cooperation Agreement to promote trade relations and maintain stability in the region. Currently, the EU is the UAE's largest trading partner with a total trade turnover in 2004 of 24.406 billion Euros (of which exports to the EU were 4.533 billion and imports from the EU were 19.873 billion), an increase of 85.9% compared to 2003 and this value accounted for 21.8% of the total foreign trade turnover (and 33.8% of the total import turnover) of the UAE. The growth rate of trade turnover in the period 2000-2004 between the UAE and the EU was quite high, up to 18.2%/year, of which import turnover growth was 17.9% and export turnover was 19.3%. However, in trade relations with the EU, the UAE has always had a trade deficit, with the largest deficit in the period 2000-2004 being in 2004. (Table I.5)

Table I.5 : UAE's two-way trade with the EU (2001 – 2005)

Unit : Million Euro

7 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EU

Year

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Source : IMF (Direction of Trade Statistics)

The main items that the UAE imports from the EU are machinery and transport equipment (accounting for 62.5% of total imports from the EU in 2005), followed by food and chemicals. The UAE exports to the EU mainly petroleum and machinery (accounting for 57.2% of total exports to the EU).

The UAE's largest partner in the EU is France, followed by Germany and the UK. Two-way trade between the UAE and France has increased significantly over the past 10 years. In 2005, import and export turnover between the UAE and France increased by 9% compared to 2004, reaching 3.383 billion Euros.

3.2 UAE's trade relations within the Gulf Cooperation Council

The Gulf Cooperation Council ( GCC), formerly known as the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (AGCC), established in 1981, is an economic and political cooperation forum consisting of six member states: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE. GCC member states all share the characteristics of small and scattered populations, high oil reserves (the GCC holds up to 45% of the world's oil reserves and supplies 20% of crude oil products for the world's needs) and limited military capabilities. Therefore, the goal of the GCC is to cooperate both economically and politically to ensure stability and solidity for each country as well as for the whole world.

region. Since January 2003, the GCC customs union has officially come into effect, creating conditions to promote trade liberalization within the GCC.

Figure I.4 : UAE's trade with the GCC (2000 – 2004 )

Figure I.5 : Proportion of trade turnover between UAE and GCC member countries (2004)

Import and export turnover with GCC countries accounts for about 6.3% (in 2004) of the UAE's total trade turnover with the world, with a growth rate of 53% in the period 2000 - 2004 (from 11.8 billion Dirhams in 2000 to 18.2 billion Dirhams in 2004) (Figure I.3), in which imports grew at a rate of 10%, exports increased by 128%, while re-exports increased by only 4%.

Among the five GCC countries, Saudi Arabia has always been the largest trading partner of the UAE, with trade turnover in 2004 accounting for 44% of the total two-way trade value of the UAE with the GCC countries. Oman ranked second, accounting for 18%. (Figure I.4)

In summary , through studying and analyzing economic and social conditions, we can see that the UAE is a country located in a very favorable position for trade and commercial exchange with many countries. At the same time, the UAE economy is an open economy, trade policies are quite open and in line with international practices, so the UAE has very good trade relations with major countries and economic blocs. The UAE is also a market with large purchasing power, diverse needs and no technical barriers.

too strict. The UAE's biggest export strength is oil, in addition to agricultural products such as dates and seafood (mainly sea fish); Imported goods that account for a large proportion and are also the main re-exported goods of the UAE are electronics, pearls, precious stones and precious metals, textiles, fruit and vegetable products and processed foods, chemicals and plastic and rubber products - these are all goods that Vietnam has a large export potential. With all these characteristics, it can be seen that the UAE is a partner, a market with great potential and is very open to Vietnamese businesses.

CHAPTER II

CURRENT STATUS OF ECONOMIC AND TRADE RELATIONS BETWEEN VIETNAM AND UAE

I. Some features of Vietnam - UAE diplomatic relations

Vietnam and the UAE officially established diplomatic relations on August 1, 1993. The relationship between the two countries has been established, maintained and developed based on the spirit of cooperation, friendship, sympathy and sharing. Up to now, our country and our partner have signed two notable agreements: the Framework Agreement on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation and Trade (October 1999), the Agreement on Air Transport (May 2001) and this year it is expected to reach an agreement and sign an agreement on Labor. Our government has opened the Vietnamese Consulate General in Dubai (October 1997) and the Vietnamese Trade Office in Dubai (2001). In October 2004, the Vietnam Trade Center in Dubai was also officially opened and put into operation. This is a step to create conditions for UAE friends to learn about the Vietnamese market and businesses and establish direct relationships with Vietnamese businesses.

Recognizing that diplomatic relations will be a solid foundation for economic and trade relations to develop, bringing benefits to both sides, our government also pays great attention to diplomatic and trade promotion visits. Before officially establishing diplomatic relations, our country's first visit to the UAE led by Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Co Thach took place in April 1976. During the period from 1992 to 2006, our government and state sent 5 official delegations led by Deputy Prime Ministers or Vice Presidents to visit the UAE.

There were also many unofficial visits by ministers of the Ministry of Fisheries, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, and visits by provincial delegations. And most recently, the visit of Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Hang from January 21 to 26, 2006. This visit of Minister Nguyen Thi Hang was to discuss measures to promote economic cooperation, especially in the field of labor cooperation between Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates. The number of domestic enterprises going to the UAE and other countries

Foreign enterprises coming to Vietnam for trade and tourism needs are also increasing rapidly. Vietnamese business delegations to Dubai, notably include the seafood business delegation, the Wood Association, the Food Association, and the General Tobacco Corporation.

Vietnamese businesses have also made great efforts to explore and exploit the UAE market through organizing survey delegations and participating in trade fairs. Among the fairs that Vietnam has participated in, we can mention the Global Village Festival, Spring Fair, Autumn Fair, Motexha, Big 5, Index, and Gifts.

Most recently, on June 14, 2006, the Vietnam - UAE Business Forum was held in Dubai, organized by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with the Vietnamese Consulate in Dubai and the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The forum attracted the participation of more than 100 Arab businessmen and representatives of nearly 40 enterprises from Vietnam. This is an important step in promoting and developing trade relations between the two countries.

II. Current status of Vietnam - UAE economic and trade relations

1. Vietnam's export activities to the UAE market:

1.1 Vietnam's export turnover to the UAE market

Since Vietnam initiated the renovation and opening of its economy, and especially since our Party and State adopted the policy of multilateralization and diversification of foreign economic relations, we have had some exports to the UAE. However, at that time, exports to the UAE were only on a small scale, unstable and experimental.

Vietnam's exports to the UAE only really developed and entered the orbit after the two countries officially established diplomatic relations, especially starting from 1999 with the export turnover in 1999 increasing 6.9 times compared to 1998 (from 2.503 million USD to 19.946 million USD) [Table II.1] . The UAE, from being a small, insignificant export market of Vietnam, has officially been present since 1999.