ABU DHABI - In a step that aims to strengthen the bilateral economic relations and investments between UAE and Republic of Paraguay, the Emirates Development Bank (EDB) held talks with a high-level official delegation from the Financial Agency for Development of Paraguay.

The talks were held during the delegation’s visit to the UAE to participate in Expo 2020 Dubai. Teresa Rivarola de Velilla, Chairperson of the Board of the Financial Agency for Development, led the delegation, which met with EDB to discuss collaboration and explored new opportunities to support businesses and entrepreneurs across the two countries.

On the occasion, EDB also provided an overview of its strategy launched last year to play a key role in supporting the UAE’s economic diversification agenda and industrial transformation agenda, towards building a knowledge-based economy.

Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, Chief Executive Officer of EDB, said, "The visit of the delegation from Financial Agency for Development of Paraguay is part of our efforts to exchange our knowledge and experiences with our partners in other geographies. During our meeting with the Financial Agency, we presented our new strategic roadmap in line with the goals underpinning the UAE’s 'Projects of the 50’ to build a sustainable knowledge-based economy, and also explored opportunities to collaborate on joint projects to ensure economic prosperity across both the UAE and Paraguay."

"The UAE and Paraguay enjoy strong trade and economic relations, the bilateral trade between UAE and Paraguay stood at AED 95 million in 2020 with UAE imports worth a total of AED 71 million. We discussed closer cooperation to support companies across different domains and creating more opportunities for commercial and investments across both the countries," he added.

During the visit, the EDB team also showcased its strategy and approach as the financial enabler of UAE Government’s ‘Operation 300bn’ program, aimed at supporting the country’s industrial growth and economic diversification plans.

As part of the strategy, which aims to leverage the bank’s role as a key driver of the national economy to provide the largest support network to the industrial sector, EDB has allocated AED 30 billion to finance over 13,500 SMEs, startups, and corporates in priority sectors such as healthcare, manufacturing, food security, infrastructure, and technology over the next decade.