According to a top official of Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority, bilateral trade between Dubai and Germany touched Dhs24.6 billion in 2020 and would keep expanding due to Dubai's ease of doing business and flexible environment (DSOA).

Dubai Silicon Oasis further provides many amenities to streamline business setup and processes, luring hundreds of international technology firms, said Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni, Vice Chairman and CEO of DSOA, while greeting Ernst Peter Fischer, Ambassador of Germany to the UAE, at DSOA's headquarters in Dubai.

Dr. Al Zarooni reaffirmed DSOA's commitment to creating a favorable environment for German and international firms to originate and develop in this location. He also emphasized DSOA's commitment to living up to its designation as a science, technology, and knowledge hotspot - one of five urban centres underneath the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan - to foster entrepreneurial innovation and empower business owners to create their innovative technology ideas.

The German Ambassador praised the supportive climate for entrepreneurs and startups at Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), a government-owned free zone that comprises regional offices for prominent global firms of many nationalities, including German businesses.

He went on to say that DSO provides a robust technology infrastructure and a welcoming environment for business owners and startups, that are at the heart of the digital economy, and also new job possibilities and increases the flexibility of sectors of the economy to restart sustained development.

During his trip, he had been briefed about Dubai Digital Park (DDP), the Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Campus (Dtec), and the new campus of the Rochester Institute of Technology-Dubai (RIT-Dubai), and the modern infrastructure of the integrated free zone technology park. He also checked at the sophisticated facilities at DDP that have been delivering smart services to residents and tourists since the first smart city of its category, developed at a cost of more than Dhs1.5 billion, was opened in early 2021.

The Ambassador also presented Anas Aljuaidi, co-CEO of the Emirati-German Institute for the Emirati-German Fourth Industrial Revolution, and Bernhard Randerath, co-CEO of the Emirati-German Institute for the Emirati-German Fourth Industrial Revolution. Dr. Al Zarooni praised the efforts to solidify the two nations' strategic and economic ties. He has been invited to the inauguration of the Emirati-German Institute, which would happen on July 2, 2021, in Aachen, Germany.

Ambassador Fischer also inspected the new state-of-the-art campus of RIT-Dubai, the technology-focused American universities in DSO, recently completed phase one of its developments. Fischer praised the UAE-German partnership, which continues to expand across professions. He reiterated that the UAE has a competitive advantage in drawing German and international direct investments, particularly in sophisticated technology and sustainable energy. Dubai's non-oil international trade recovered strongly from the obstacles created by COVID-19's worldwide economic ramifications and the halting of commercial activity by countries throughout the world in the first half of last year to achieve significant growth in 2020.

Dubai's international commerce should reach Dhs1.182 trillion in 2020, because of its resistance to global challenges, quick economic recovery, and reinvigorated growth in the second half of the year. Total trade volume in 2020 touched 100 million tonnes, owing to a 6% year-on-year increase in volume in the second half of the year. In 2020, the total value of exports increased by 8% to Dhs167 billion, while imports totaled Dhs686 billion and re-exports totaled Dhs29 billion.

As a part of the inaugural batch of the “Nothing Is Impossible Hackathon” concept for students from national and international universities, the UAE government-produced creative and practical solutions to energy and infrastructure issues.

The Ministry of Possibilities organized the Hackathon to increase student engagement in creating the next generation of government practices to assist the government's attempt to prepare for the future.

The first round of the hackathon focused on providing innovative and efficient solutions to four major issues posed by the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, namely “energy consumption in buildings, traffic congestion, flood mitigation, and the sustainable aviation fuel challenge.” In the presence of the UAE government, and several prominent officials namely Suhail Bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and The Future, Abdulla Nasser Lootah, Director-General of the Prime Minister’s Office at the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs, the participating students in the Hackathon were honored.

Suhail Al Mazrouei emphasized that perhaps the ministry encourages university students to actively participate in molding the future of energy, infrastructure, housing, and transportation in the UAE through an ambitious goal that develops tools and mechanisms to guarantee the UAE's readiness for the next fifty years.