On Thursday 12 November 2015, Luxembourg Minister of Finance met with His Excellency Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of the Economy of the United Arab Emirates, in Brussels.
The neeting followed the Luxembourg mission to the UAE which was chaired by HRH the Hereditary Grand Duke and conducted by Minister Gramegna in March 2015, as well as the participation of Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel in the World Islamic Economic Forum in Dubai in October of last year.
Discussion between the two Ministers focused on the bilateral relations between Luxembourg and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the economic and political situation in Europe and the Middle East. The refugee crisis and the financial implications thereof formed an integral part of these talks.
The interlocutors also provided an update on developments in taxation and transparency at the international level, in the spirit of the so-called 'level playing field' in this regard.
The Ministers further explored further opportunities for closer cooperation between the two countries within economic, financial and research contexts. These will be concretised at the next meeting of the Cooperation Council on Islamic finance which has been planned for March 2016 in the Grand Duchy. At their meeting, the Minister raised the question of expanding the mandate of the Council into a privileged instrument between the two countries.
Pierre Gramegna is in Brussels for negotiations on the European budget, which entered the Conciliation Committee phase between the Council, Parliament and Commission.
Photo by MFIN (L-R: S.E. Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of the Economy of the UAE; Sana Al Mehairbi, UAE Ambassador in Brussels)
