ع
The Department of Economic Development – Abu Dhabi organised the visit to engage British investors and businesses on prospects across renewable energy, advanced technology, healthcare and financial services, according to a WAM dispatch. Delegation members participated in dedicated panels at the London Business Summit while conducting one-on-one sessions with potential partners seeking exposure to the Gulf’s largest non-oil economy. The outreach forms part of a sustained campaign to position Abu Dhabi as a preferred destination for long-term capital, building on the emirate’s established record of infrastructure projects and innovation districts. Official data from the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development places recent foreign direct investment inflows in targeted sectors at more than $10 billion over the past two years.
A senior ADDED representative told WAM that the emirate maintains a robust regulatory environment, zero corporate tax incentives in designated free zones and seamless access to both regional and international markets. The official emphasised ongoing investments in clean energy and artificial intelligence as areas where UK expertise could deliver mutual benefits. These pitches arrive as bilateral trade between the UAE and Britain expanded by 12 percent year-on-year in 2025, a trend documented in Central Bank of the UAE statistics.
The London programme included site tours of comparable UK innovation clusters and roundtables focused on sustainable finance, the news agency said. Participants reviewed Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund strategies that have deployed capital into European infrastructure and technology ventures valued at tens of billions of dollars. Such engagements have historically translated into joint ventures that support the emirate’s goal of raising non-oil GDP contribution to 60 percent by the end of the decade, according to Abu Dhabi government planning documents.
Separate sessions addressed logistics, tourism and life sciences, sectors where the emirate has recorded double-digit growth rates since the post-pandemic recovery, World Bank investment reviews indicate. The delegation carried detailed project pipelines that outline public-private partnership models designed to reduce entry barriers for foreign participants. WAM noted that several memoranda of understanding are expected to emerge from the visit, consistent with similar trips that yielded concrete commitments in prior years.
Abu Dhabi’s investment promotion drive aligns with national efforts to attract $150 billion in foreign capital by 2030, a benchmark cited in federal economic reports. The emirate’s stable governance, English-language business framework and strategic location have consistently earned high marks in global competitiveness assessments published by the World Economic Forum. Delegation leaders expressed confidence that the London meetings would accelerate partnerships capable of delivering technology transfer and job creation within the UAE.
