UAE, France trade grew 17%, reached Dhs29.5bn in 2022

The trade exchange between the UAE and France grew by 16.8 per cent in 2022, reaching Dhs29.44bn ($8bn), compared to Dhs25.2bn ($6.8bn) in 2021, according to data from the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre.

In 2022, the bilateral trade between the two countries consisted of imports valued at Dhs25.2bn, while exports and re-exports were valued at approximately Dhs4.2bn, stated state news agency WAM.

A report on the trade between the UAE and France showed that their international trade rose by 49 per cent over the past three years, rising from Dhs19.7bn in 2020 to Dhs29.4bn at the end of last year.

#UAE and #France: history of strong partnership across multiple sectors#WamNews https://t.co/5nt2NfDpsK pic.twitter.com/rObZ9LlEfB

— WAM English (@WAMNEWS_ENG) May 11, 2023

The report included data on trade between the two countries from 2013 to 2022, showing that their trade increased in 2014 to Dhs27.4bn, compared to Dhs24.58bn in 2013.

In 2015, the exchange between the two sides reached Dhs26.4bn, rising to Dhs27.1bn in 2016, Dhs26.8bn in 2017, and more than Dhs28bn in 2018, and over Dhs27.6bn in 2019.

According to the report’s data, jewellery and precious metal products topped the list of the five leading commodities imported from France in 2022, with a value of Dhs2.96bn.

This was followed by jet engines valued at Dhs2.58bn, perfumes at Dhs2.1bn, medicines at Dhs1.4bn and bags at Dhs1.3bn.

In terms of re-exports, aircraft parts topped the list with a value of Dhs1.1bn, followed by jewellery and precious metal products worth Dhs421m, jet engines worth more than Dhs200m, cars worth Dhs146m, and perfumes worth Dhs128m.

Meanwhile, packaging bottles were the UAE’s leading export commodity valued at Dhs88m.

In other news, earlier this year, the UAE and France agreed to launch a bilateral programme that combines French and Emirati expertise to develop commercial and investable opportunities.

This is to accelerate clean energy development, mainly in the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate industries, including exploring clean hydrogen solutions for mobility.

Read: UAE, France to jointly focus on decarbonisation of hard-to-abate industries

Industrial leaders from both countries have partnered in the development, investment and operation of over 6.2 gigawatts of clean and renewable energy programmes across the globe – including two of the largest single-site solar projects in the world, located in the UAE.

They have mobilised over $6bn in investment, displacing some 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.