ABU DHABI, 12th September, 2022 (WAM) — Arnoldo André, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica, has emphasized the importance of the United Arab Emirates to his country, highlighting the increase in bilateral trade by 292.3%, since the opening of the Embassy of Costa Rica. in the UAE in 2017.

In an article published by ‘La República’ newspaper, André said that Costa Rica has 12 years of diplomatic relations with the UAE. Since then, he said, “our trade, education and tourism ties have grown stronger and represent an example of the enormous benefits of building bridges with the Middle East from our economic diplomacy actions.”

Andre continued, “Since the opening of our embassy in 2017, Costa Rica’s trade with the UAE has increased by 292.3%, according to figures from the UAE Ministry of Economy. For the year 2021, total trade between the two countries reached $49.1 million and, to date, there are significant opportunities for Costa Rican companies to open markets in this country in order to diversify the chains. of Emirati food supply.

To this end, trade fairs have played a transcendental role in this two-way flow. In September this year, nine Emirati companies belonging to the agro-food sector have already confirmed their participation in the Buyers Trade Mission (BTM) exhibition, organized by the Foreign Trade Promoter (Procomer). Since 2018, 37 Emirati companies have participated in this fair to discover the productive capacities of Costa Rica and the export potential of our country.

In turn, food security in the Middle East offers the Costa Rican private sector the opportunity to take advantage of existing agreements, in terms of investment promotion and protection, facilities to avoid double taxation and favorable air transport conditions, among other advantages, as well as the presence of a resident embassy and a trade promotion office which, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai, respectively, work hand in hand to generate business opportunities.

As confirmed by Francisco Chacón, Ambassador of Costa Rica to the United Arab Emirates, there is enormous interest from the Emiratis for Costa Rica to participate in the Arab Travel Market: the main tourism fair in the Middle East, in priority for them as it is for us the BTM of Costa Rica. To date, Costa Rica and the United Arab Emirates have 25 bilateral instruments, including trade, investment, tax, tourism promotion and connectivity instruments.

An example of the excellent commercial relationship between the two countries was the recognition given by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Emirate of Sharjah to our Embassy for “its efforts and cooperation as a strategic partner”. In addition to the commercial relationship, the UAE has defined actions that demonstrate its interest in cooperating with Costa Rica at the highest level, in terms of education, sustainability and innovation. With this in mind, avenues of joint work have been explored for the development of tools to improve the quality of the design of coastal structures and the management of marine and terrestrial ecosystems.

To date, five Costa Ricans have received scholarships from the Emirati Scholarship Program for Costa Rica, four have received scholarships to New York University Abu Dhabi to pursue undergraduate studies, and one Costa Rican is studying for a degree. postgraduate at Mohamed bin Zayed. University of Artificial Intelligence. In this university, the Costa Rican student Adriana Bermúdez, was elected president of the student government of this house of studies.

According to Ambassador Chacón, this personal achievement of the Costa Rican student illustrates how competitive the talent and expertise of Costa Rican human capital are wherever they are. In the United Arab Emirates, some 175 Costa Ricans contribute to Emirati society from their various spheres as permanent residents, according to data from our embassy.

Through Emirates Airlines and its Emirates Holidays group, the country brand “Essential Costa Rica” is also promoted, through the slogan “Discover the natural wonders of Costa Rica”. This promotion is available to potential tourists in 161 cities in 85 countries. With a codeshare flight system, first with Jetblue and then with Avianca, Emirates Airlines arrives in Costa Rica via connections in the United States and Mexico, respectively, which means better connectivity and easier travel for Emirati businessmen.

It should be noted that the Emiratis do not need a visa to enter the country, because there is a memorandum of understanding for the promotion of tourism, which makes the country brand Costa Rica more attractive for the commercial sector, because of the extensive facilities that have been developed, from the exterior action.

During his official visit to Costa Rica last April, Sheikh Fahim bin Sultan Al-Qasimi, Executive Chairman of Government Affairs of the Executive Council of the Government of the Emirate of Sharjah, said that Costa Rica still has great potential to explore with the Emirati federation. .

Our actions of economic diplomacy and coordinated inter-institutional work guarantee the future sustainability of trade and investment dynamics, under the optimum of “friend shoring” between the two countries.

Our commercial, educational and tourism links make the investment of a presence in the Gulf profitable. The presence and diplomatic action of Costa Rica in the United Arab Emirates aims to direct the gaze towards competitiveness, innovation and sustainability.”