"Determination Strategy" Rebuilds a New Regional Economic System

  • 11 June 2018

The Saudi Crown Prince, Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, presided the first meeting of the Saudi-Saudi Coordination Council.
The meeting witnessed the announcement of the organizational structure of the council, which was formed in order to intensify binary cooperation and follow up the implementation of projects and programs in addition to the signing of 20 agreements and 44 joint projects.
The agreements came out of 350 officials from the both countries in 12 months to formulate a "Determination Strategy" to cement the integration between Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed have set a 60-month deadline for implementing the strategy. The Saudi and UAE economies represent a gross domestic product of $ 1 trillion, their combined exports are the fourth in the world at $ 750 billion, and their annual investment in infrastructure is estimated at $ 150 billion, indicating that there are exceptional opportunities for cooperation.
The "Determination Strategy" called for the establishment of a joint council to coordinate foreign investments, in addition to the need to enable the banking sector in both countries, and to work on harmonization of economic procedures and legislations between them, and cooperate in the development of modern financial technology techniques.
There were also agreements about unified food security strategy, unified medical stock plan, joint supply security system and joint investment in oil, gas and petrochemicals.
It was also agreed to establish an agricultural investment company with a capital of $ 1.4 billion, and a joint renewable energy investment fund, a third investment fund for small and medium enterprises in addition to a unified industrial database.
The strategy also includes the establishment of a joint center for the development of desalination technologies, as well as cooperation in the management of infrastructure projects. The two countries agreed to facilitate the flow of movement in the ports, and the security and military cooperation and integration.

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