On the morning of October 24, the “Fueling Global Growth: Trade, Investment and Financial Cooperation in Asia” Abu Dhabi Roundtable co-hosted by BFA Academy and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) was held at the establishment of ADGM. This is one of the roundtables hosted by BFA Academy, which brought together nearly 60 high-level representatives from governments, financial regulators, businesses and academic institutions in East Asia and the Middle East. H.E. Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State of UAE and Executive Chairman of ADGM, delivered a welcome speech, and Zhou Xiaochuan, Vice Chairman of BFA, delivered a keynote speech. The roundtable was co-moderated by Li Baodong, Secretary-General of BFA and Director of BFA Academy, and Richard Teng, CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of ADGM.

H.E. Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh highly appreciated this high-level roundtable held by BFA in the Middle East to promote economic and financial cooperation between the Middle East and the rest of Asia. He said that in the context of increasing global trade protectionism and economic downward pressure, Asian economies remain resilient and offer many opportunities for trade and investment. As a highly open economy, the UAE stands ready to work with other Asian countries to strengthen economic, trade and financial cooperation, firmly support multilateralism and safeguard international trade and financial rules. This roundtable is expected to enhance regional understanding and communication across Asia and promote pragmatic cooperation in various fields and on different levels, he said.

Vice Chairman Zhou Xiaochuan said that with the acceleration of economic diversification in the Middle East, the region is set to strengthen trade and investment ties with the other parts of Asia and increase efforts to embrace technological change. The wider and deeper cooperation between the Middle East and other Asian countries will reinvigorate the global economy. Traditional energy, non-energy industry and financial cooperation can serve as the three pillars of cooperation between the Middle East and the other parts of Asia represented by East Asia. In terms of financial cooperation, various stakeholders can enhance all-round cooperation in commercial banks, investment banks, bond and stock markets, PE/VC funds, asset management, insurance and FinTech, and effectively mobilize the savings within Asia to support the development of real economy. Vice Chairman Zhou also stressed the importance of policy reforms for driving economic transformation and unlocking growth potential in emerging economies. He encouraged market players to enhance cooperation in line with the development visions of the Middle Eastern countries as well as regional and global initiatives such as China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

During the sessions of “Promoting Trade and Investment Cooperation” and “Deepening Financial Cooperation”, the participants discussed the enormous prospects of trade, investment and financial cooperation between the Middle East and other parts of Asia including East Asia, and shared the strong desire to cooperate with third-party markets such as Africa. They said that the roundtable starts the journey of enhancing mutual understanding and building trust between the Middle East and the rest of Asia, and they expressed their willingness to strengthen communication and engagement to effectively drive economic growth of Asia and the world at large.