Non-oil bilateral foreign trade between the UAE and Spain has flourished in recent years, growing by an impressive 26.3 per cent from $1.9 billion in 2011 to $2.4 billion in 2016, a top official said.

“Spain’s direct investments to the UAE continue to grow, with 45 commercial companies, 112 commercial agencies and 2,456 trademarks from Spain registered locally as of 2015,” Eng Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, UAE Minister of Economy and the chairman of  the 4th session of the UAE- Spain Joint Economic Committee said.

Top officials from the UAE and Spain discussed various bilateral relations and coordination in various development fields of common interest at the session, which was held in Dubai, UAE.

The ministerial meeting of the committee was chaired by Al Mansoori and by Luis De Guindos Jurado, Minister of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness of Spain.

The Spanish side, on the other hand, included Marisa Poncela, secretary of state for Trade; Antonio Alvarez, Spanish Ambassador to the UAE; and several other diplomatic personal and senior officials from the Spanish Government.

The two ministers discussed the most important economic and development issues in their respective countries, said a statement.

They also reviewed the latest developments and trends in international economics and exchanged views on the many challenges and changes facing the global economy as well as the cooperative approaches to confronting them, it said.

The group emphasised that the economic relations between their countries have been continuously growing. They expressed their commitment to working together to consolidate these relations on an ongoing basis and to explore development opportunities in various sectors.

They noted the vital role played by the Joint Economic Committee in raising their existing cooperation to higher levels in accordance with well-planned frameworks and mechanisms and a clear agenda that meets the aspirations of the two countries.