Juma Al Kait, Assistant Undersecretary for Foreign Trade Affairs at the Ministry of Economy, has led a delegation from the UAE Ministry of Economy to the second G20 Trade and Investment Working Group Meeting (TIWG) in May in Bengaluru, India.

The three-day forum, held under India’s G20 Presidency, brought together more than 100 delegates from G20 member countries, invitee countries, regional groupings, and international organisations to discuss critical global trade and investment issues.

The G20’s ongoing work on trade and investment builds on the key outcomes of the 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (MC12) in Geneva, which included significant breakthroughs on fishing subsidies and dispute resolution. It now seeks to accelerate WTO reform to guarantee an open, inclusive, and transparent global trading system, which is vital for ensuring growth and opportunity for all member nations.

During the TIWG meeting, Al Kait reiterated the UAE’s commitment to driving the WTO reform agenda, which is a key priority as the nation prepares to host MC13 in Abu Dhabi in February 2024. He also stressed the importance of cross-border cooperation in building resilience across global value chains, underlining the need to enhance the participation of small and medium-sized businesses and design policies that encourage diversification of import sources.

Al Kait also welcomed the discussions around the digitalisation of trade, especially as it relates to enabling businesses to bring new products and services to a greater number of digitally connected customers across the globe, which he said is a critical driver to increasing the scale, scope, and speed of international trade.

He stated that accelerating investment in digital supply chain solutions remains high on the UAE’s economic agenda, affirming that the UAE is committed to establishing virtual trade corridors to facilitate seamless, paperless trade using digital exchange systems.

Al Kait added, “The UAE’s participation in the G20 trade and investment track reflects our growing role in driving cooperation and consensus on critical issues impacting international trade. These discussions will contribute greatly to shaping WTO reform and ensuring the multilateral trading system meets the needs of the 21st century.”

Progress achieved through the G20’s various working groups will be taken forward to the upcoming G20 Leaders' Summit, which is set to take place on September 9-10 in New Delhi, India.

The UAE’s participation in the G20 process coincides with its preparations to host the World Investment Forum organised by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Investment (UNCTAD) in October, the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in November, and the 13th Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which will take place next year.