UK Government’s Department for DCMS visits Abu Dhabi Global Market

Abu Dhabi Global Market, an Abu Dhabi-based international financial center, recently welcomed a delegation sent by the UK government. The delegation consists of members from the department for digital, culture, media, and sport (DCMS), which arrived to ADGM to strengthen cooperation and partnership with the organization.

Apart from that, the goal is to work on improving the partnership in the digital economy space, which is something that both economies can benefit from.

According to ADGM, the leaders from the UAE and UK have been in discussions about reviewing mutual ties and strengthening them, and that is exactly the goal of the visit. The plans were apparently made after the discussion about the matter led the two countries to come up with ideas on how to strengthen collaboration.

The delegation that arrived at ADGM was led by the Minister of State for Media, data, and digital infrastructure, H. E. Julia Lopez MP. Alongside Lopez was His Majesty’s ambassador to the UAE, H.E. Patrick Moody. The delegation was welcomed by ADGM’s chairman, H.E. Ahmed Al Zaabi, together with a number of senior management members.

Stronger ties between the UAE and UK to open up new opportunities

Upon arrival, the delegation was given a tour of the ADGM Courts, as well as of Hub71, which is the country’s community of entrepreneurs, accelerators, and VCs that have ties to the Abu Dhabi Global Market’s ecosystem. The community has been trying to connect promising start-ups and founders with some of the leading global entities that have a presence in Abu Dhabi.

This includes entities from private and public sectors alike, all with the goal of creating new economic and commercial opportunities establishing new partnerships among influential people and brands and alike.

Hub71 also has its own incubator, which was established in partnership with major accelerators known on a global level. Some of the biggest names in this sector include Techstars and Plug and Play, among others.

The two countries have been maintaining a friendly relationship for a long time, to the point where the UAE is currently the UK’s 25th largest trading partner. Whether the ranking will change as part of the recent efforts to improve the relationship further remains to be seen. However, it is worth noting that the country has seen major growth in the last 10 years. For example, the UAE has gone from AED 60 billion in 2014 to AED 92 billion in 2020. According to current projections, the figure should hit 125 million in the next two years.

As for the visit, the ADGM’s chairman Ahmed Al Zaabi said that the organization is pleased to welcome the delegation from the UK, especially with the new-age finance being one of the key focus sectors for ADGM. This remains its new go-to-market strategy, and it will be the sector that will help drive the growth of the Falcon economy. As such, it is crucial to establish partnerships in order to open doors to new global benefits, opportunities, and data flows.