• The minister met with companies and investment funds interested in sectors such as infrastructure, energy, and food as part of the presidential tour of the Middle East.

Chile’s Minister of Economy, Development, and Tourism, Nicolás Grau, engaged in an intense schedule of business activities as part of President Gabriel Boric’s tour of the United Arab Emirates.

To start the day, the minister accompanied President Boric at a meeting with the President of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan, at the Presidential Palace Qasr Al Watan. At the meeting, both leaders celebrated the exchange of documents for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which will improve trade between the two countries by enabling extensive access to goods, services, and government procurement.

“The CEPA is a highly relevant milestone in the economic relationship between our countries. Not only will it enable 95% of the goods that we current export to the United Arab Emirates to be free from tariffs in the short term; it will also diversify and encourage investment from the United Arab Emirates in Chile. It is also a highly significant political signal, as our first trade agreement of this kind with a country from the Arabian Gulf,” said Minister Grau.

Agreement to promote investment

As part of his agenda, together with the Head of the Investment Promotion Division at InvestChile, Salvatore Di Giovanni, Minister Grau met with the United Arab Emirates’ Minister of Investment, Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, with whom he signed a cooperation agreement for investment promotion, which places emphasis on ten specific sectors (food security; agriculture and irrigation; logistics and transportation; infrastructure; public services; minerals and natural resources; finance and banking; environment; development and construction; and energy and green hydrogen) and will be implemented by InvestChile.

Grau also participated in a roundtable discussion with more than 25 senior representatives of local companies and funds, which focused on the infrastructure, mining, and finance sectors. The discussion was led by President Boric, together with members of the official Chilean delegation including Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alberto van Klaveren; Minister of Public Works, Jessica López; Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge, and Innovation, Aisén Etcheverry; and Undersecretary for International Economic Relations, Claudia Sanhueza.

In the afternoon, Minister Grau held bilateral meetings with companies such as the recently created mining company Admog, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO). He also met with the United Arab Emirates Minister of Economy, Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, with whom he discussed opportunities for multi-sectoral investment, in addition to the possibility of a delegation of local businesses and funds visiting Chile before the end of this year. He then spoke to local media outlets.

“The meetings with authorities, companies, and funds were very positive. We will continue tomorrow with political meetings, and we will also visit DP World, a leading company in port infrastructure that also has major investments in Chile. This demonstrates that this visit is not just about strengthening economic relations in the future; rather, we are already developing an extremely significant collaboration,” said Minister Grau.

The tour continues tomorrow with a series of meetings in Dubai.