The Diplomat
The Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates Majid Hassan Mohammed H. Alsuwaidi visited the Cordoba Science and Technology Park on Tuesday, where the Mayor, José María Bellido, the delegate of the Junta in Cordoba, Antonio Repullo, and the director of the centre, Eva Pozo, explained its public-private operation.
He also held a meeting with representatives of the Cordovan companies ICCA, dedicated to engineering and consultancy for automatic control; CONTRAC Interior, a company at the forefront of luxury interiors; SILOS Córdoba, dedicated to the manufacture of metal silos for grain storage worldwide; and PAY THUNDER, which has developed the mobile application that facilitates the payment of services such as public transport.
The ambassador, for his part, offered the collaboration of the Embassy to the entrepreneurs so that they can present their projects and business initiatives and opened up the possibility that investors from the Arab Emirates could enter into Cordovan businesses. Likewise, after highlighting the tolerant nature of his country, which differentiates it from other countries in the region, he emphasised that they are not only interested in oil and gas, but that a wide range of sectors such as new technologies are opening up.
With regard to Andalusia, he pointed out that it represents 10.5% of Spanish exports to the United Arab Emirates and expressed his wish that economic relations between the United Arab Emirates and Andalusia be strengthened.
The meeting, organised by the Andalusian Regional Government, was also attended by Rosario Alarcón, Director of Andalucía Global, Antonio Díaz, President of the Confederation of Businessmen and María del Mar Delgado, the Rector’s Delegate for International Projection. In their various speeches, they thanked the ambassador for his interest in strengthening ties of collaboration, getting to know the Andalusian business fabric, in particular that of Cordoba, and getting to know its culture.
Díaz, who described the Science and Technology Park as “a brilliant place to discover”, explained that from January to June of this year, Cordovan companies had exported more than 10 million euros, the main export product being jewellery with 25% of the export volume, followed by table olives, which accounted for 22%, olive oil with 17%, industrial refrigeration (cold storage and catering) with 13% and decorative ceramics with 8%.
The Ambassador then travelled to the University of Cordoba, where he was received by the Rector José Carlos Gómez and members of his team. During this visit, Francisco Sánchez Tortosa, Director of International Programmes at the UCO, explained the projects in force and the different collaborations existing between the UCO and the United Arab Emirates: student exchanges, training courses, postgraduate programmes, and so on.
In this sense, the rector showed the ambassador the desire to expand this collaboration, not only in exchange and training, but also in research covering different fields of knowledge. “The UCO is a key element in projects in Andalusia and Spain,” said the Rector, who gave as an example the Proton Therapy Centre which will be based in the Technology Park.
The ambassador gave a presentation on his country, the different research centres, the interest in the field of technology and innovation and digitalisation for the fight against climate change, among other sectors.
Subsequently, the Three Cultures Foundation hosted an interesting meeting between the Emirati ambassador and the Minister of Economic Transformation, Industry, Knowledge and Universities, Rogelio Velasco, in which they discussed business opportunities for this community and the possibility of closer collaboration between the two countries in different sectors.
The director of the Foundation, Concha de Santa Ana, explained to the ambassador that the aim of the institution is to foster understanding between the countries on the shores of the Mediterranean, as well as to promote inter-religious dialogue. She also alluded to the Foundation’s activities, such as the teaching of classical Arabic, Moroccan Arabic and Hebrew, and the implementation of projects such as Halad, which encompasses the Muslim world and aims to offer quality tourism in Andalusia, and international cooperation missions, for example, in Senegal, where a cultural and environmental research centre is being set up in the city of San Luis.
In this regard, the ambassador also stressed that his country is working for cultural understanding and respectful coexistence between different religions, in order to prevent extremist groups from using religion to justify their violent acts. Hence, he expressed his desire to work together and develop initiatives that promote tolerance.
The Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates is making an official visit to Cordoba, Seville and Granada, organised by the Andalusian Regional Government, which is part of the bilateral relations between the United Arab Emirates and Spain and aims to strengthen ties, publicise the outstanding potential of Andalusia and open up new avenues that will lead to future collaborations and business opportunities in the technology, agri-food, bio-health and tourism sectors, among others.
