Business & Money | Saturday 14 October, 2017 2:41 pm |

The Abu Dhabi government has announced a package of incentives for Saudi investors including exemption from taxes, and that they will be treated as its citizens for all investment purposes.
The announcement was made at the Saudi-UAE Business Forum held in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
The forum held under the title “Together for Ever,” was attended by Majid Al-Qassabi, minister of commerce and investment; Sultan Al-Mansouri, UAE minister of economy; and the chairman of the Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC), Ahmed Al-Rajhi, with the participation of more than 1,000 government officials, investors, businessmen and women, and entrepreneurs from the two countries.
Describing the decision made at the forum as positive, Al-Rajhi said the meeting adopted a number of measures aimed at enabling Saudi investors to establish investment projects in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
Al-Rajhi pointed out that the forum and its constructive decisions would help Saudi and UAE business owners enter into a new developmental stage of partnership and maintain a balance of trade cooperation between the two countries, especially as they are considered the largest Arab economies.
The new measures announced at the forum were the inclusion of Saudi investors in all facilities and exemptions, the most important of which is the cancellation of fees for lease agreements, the exemption of the Saudi investor from the fees of Abu Dhabi Chamber subscriptions, and also the provision of 100,000 square meters for Saudi investors for a three-year lease period for land within the Specialized Economic Zones, on which the Saudi investors could start up their enterprises.
The forum also witnessed the signing of three agreements including entrepreneurship, agricultural investment and governance. Three working sessions were held for the National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020 in light of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the UAE Vision 2021, and also industrial integration between both sides and the role of women in the economy.
In his speech, Al-Qassabi stressed the importance of the forum as a step toward strengthening bilateral trade relations.
The minister pointed out that it had been agreed to hold this forum every two years, provided that its mechanism and agendas are developed and updated in accordance with economic, trade and investment circumstances and developments.