Abu Dhabi, UAE – The UAE and Australia enjoy long-standing economic ties, where the UAE is Australia’s largest Middle East trade and investment partner.

Bilateral trade of goods and services between both countries stood at USD$9.3bn in 2022. Furthermore, the UAE and Australia announced the commencement of talks for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2023. The UAE is currently home to almost 16,000 Australian expats.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) has signed a collaboration Letter of Intent with Western Australia’s (WA) Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation to accelerate growth across shared areas of economic interest.

The collaboration is part of a series of strategic ADIO initiatives to drive greater private sector opportunities through strengthened relations with Australia.

The Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation delivers strategic initiatives on behalf of the Western Australian Government, supporting large-scale mining and industrial operations through to innovate startups and small to medium sized businesses across the state. ADIO is working with the department to explore avenues of cooperation within their Diversify WA Strategy and ADIO’s Strategic Clusters.

The agreement also promotes cross-sector activities, including supply chain development, advanced manufacturing, science innovation and technology, and environmental, social and governance frameworks.

“ADIO is proud to drive and grow trade relations between Abu Dhabi and Western Australia. Our strategic collaboration with the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation will unlock opportunities for Australian companies, enabling their growth into Abu Dhabi and new markets in the region, as do the same for Emirati companies seeking to expand their activities in Australia and its surrounding region.”

Badr Al-Olama, Director General of ADIO

Hon Reece Whitby, Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Action, said: “Western Australia has significant economic ties with the United Arab Emirates, with this agreement a good example of the State Government’s strong working relationship with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office. The State Government will continue to find ways in which Western Australia and Abu Dhabi can cooperate to achieve mutually beneficial economic outcomes.”

Australia was also among the 192 participating countries at Expo 2020 Dubai, which provided a key platform for Australian companies to engage with key partners from the Middle East and South Asia. 

Western Australia’s economy is export-oriented, with around half of Australia’s exports of goods originating from the state each year, including minerals, petroleum, agri-food and specialised manufactured goods. Its gross state product (GSP) was AUD445.3bn in 2022-23, which was 17.4% of Australia’s gross domestic product (GDP).