UAE economy minister to hold talks with Hong Kong hi-tech AI company SenseTime as Gulf state seeks to diversify economy and boost growth
- Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri says one reason for trip to Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong is to meet city tech firms that can broaden UAE’s oil-based economy
- Al Marri says city plays ‘big role’ in fintech, green technology and logistics and wants to examine ways Hong Kong and UAE can work together
The United Arab Emirates’ economy minister is to meet Hong Kong artificial intelligence start-up SenseTime and other cutting edge firms as the Gulf state turns to advanced technologies to diversify and achieve an ambitious economic growth target.
Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, in Hong Kong to attend the Belt and Road Summit, told the Post on Wednesday that one of the focuses for his visit was to meet small tech firms at the two city start-up accelerators to broaden the UAE’s oil-based economy.
“There’s a lot of financial technology. There’s a lot of green technology … Hong Kong plays a big role as well in the logistics aspect and [shipping] routes that go globally. So there’s a lot of that. We’re going to look into it,” Al Marri said.
He was speaking as he visited the city’s Cyberport on Wednesday before he tours the Hong Kong Science Park in Tai Po on Thursday.
One of the tech firms Al Marri is expected to speak to on Thursday is facial recognition tech provider SenseTime, which has been sanctioned by the United States for its alleged role in the surveillance of Uygurs in China.
The economy minister was also scheduled to meet start-ups involved in plant-based food technology and e-commerce logistics at the Science Park.
The UAE recorded economic growth of 7.6 per cent in 2022.
It wants to increase growth by 7 per cent a year in the decade from 2021 to 2031.
“Now, 7 per cent growth will not come from the traditional economy. It has to come from new tech,” Al Marri said.
He explained at the summit that he was looking at developments in the circular economy, and highlighted a plant in the UAE that turns used cooking oil used from restaurants and households into aviation fuel.
Hong Kong’s Belt and Road Summit to feature new session devoted to Middle East
The minister’s Hong Kong visit came seven months after a Middle East tour by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu.
Lee visited the UAE and Saudi Arabia in a weeklong trip designed to boost trade between the city and Arab economies.
One of the 30 delegates who joined the city leader on the trip was lawmaker Jesse Shang Hailong, also managing director of SenseTime Hong Kong.
Al Marri explained that the UAE needed to re-engage with Hong Kong and other economies after the enforced halt to face-to-face meetings because of coronavirus travel restrictions.
“The visit in February and our visit today really creates a bridge between that redesign and looking again into the cooperation between the UAE and Hong Kong. We’re going to see a couple of memorandums of understanding (MOUs) being signed in the next couple of days here,” he said.
Lee’s visit to the UAE in February saw seven MOUs signed.
The governments of Hong Kong and Dubai, one of the seven emirates in the UAE, forged a non-binding agreement on fostering financial cooperation between the two economies at the opening session of the two-day summit on Wednesday.
Hong Kong to host delegates from UAE, Saudi Arabia to boost bank collaboration
Al Marri, who took part in the policy dialogue on Wednesday, also promoted the Gulf state as a “brain port” in an appeal for talent.
“We have opened visas, green visas for talent, to really look at the UAE and aspects to really pursue these new economies,” he said.
“Strategies are great, but talent is at the heart of all of these new strategies and new economies,” he added.
This year’s summit, organised by the Trade Development Council, includes a Middle East Forum for the first time, designed to focus on economic opportunities in the area.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah have also set up booths at the summit’s exhibition zone.
Hong Kong has been wooing belt and road economies amid geopolitical tension between China and the US.
The chief executive travelled to three Southeast Asian countries in July to create closer ties and lobby for support for Hong Kong’s bid to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the world’s largest free-trade pact.
