Clean energy, technology, and infrastructure are each key areas for potential cooperation between China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said Nasser Salem Al-Ali, head of Commercial Banking at First Abu Dhabi Bank.
The UAE banker is in Beijing to attend the 2024 Swift International Banker's Operation Seminar (Sibos) financial services forum that concluded on Thursday. Speaking to a reporter at the event, he stressed that both China and the UAE have strong advantages to bring to the table as their partnerships continue to deepen.
"When you speak about clean energy, actually the focus would be on three major themes. One sector would be EV cars, two would be solar energy, three would be green hydrogen. When we go to technology, we speak about AI, we speak about high-tech products and then the infrastructure. We could see a huge opportunity in terms of collaboration when it comes to huge projects and infrastructure within the UAE and also outside the UAE," Al-Ali said.
He added that China's efforts to boost its trade connectivity with the world could greatly benefit from the UAE's expertise in logistics.
"This is something where we excel, actually, in the UAE. And we could help the Chinese re-exporters to create a piece in the UAE and re-export easily to the region, the Middle East and Africa," he said.
The Sibos financial services forum opened in Beijing on Monday, gathering nearly 10,000 participants from over 150 countries and regions to discuss banking and payments, technology and innovation, and environmental, social and governance strategies.
Under the theme "Connecting the future of finance," the four-day event is set to promote communication between China and international financial institutions and drive the financial digital transformation.
The event's main exhibition has attracted 133 financial institutions and third parties, with 114 being from overseas. Meanwhile, over 50 fintech companies will showcase their best offerings at a separate exhibition.
Sibos has had 44 sessions since 1978. The meetings have been attended each year by 7,000 to 9,000 financial executives and experts from more than 150 countries and regions.
The 2024 Beijing Sibos is the first time that this event has taken place in the Chinese mainland, as its organizer, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), hopes to enhance Beijing's position as a global provider of secure financial messaging services.
Clean energy, infrastructure to be key areas of China-UAE cooperation: banker
