Today's Edition
MUDHI ALOBTHANI (ABU DHABI)
Future-focused industries — such as tech and energy — are becoming a key focus of the UAE-Germany partnership, as the two countries look beyond trade toward shared strategic interests, a senior official said.
"Our partnership with Germany will be related to the future,” said Dr Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Defence, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee at the Federal National Council, speaking at a discussion on Wednesday.
“The partnership and engagement will be related to AI, energy, health, education and culture,” he said.
The remarks came as President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan began a state visit to Germany on Wednesday, where His Highness would meet senior leaders to advance bilateral cooperation and discuss regional and international developments.
Some agreements are expected to be announced during the state visit, with other areas of cooperation to develop further over time, Dr Al Nuaimi said.
The session — held at the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy under the title "UAE and Germany: A Partnership in a Changing Global Order” — brought together Dr Al Nuaimi and Janina Hasse-Mohsine, Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy in Abu Dhabi.
For the UAE, the relationship with Germany represents more than a traditional economic partnership, the officials said. It reflects an approach to international relations built around diverse, long-term ties spanning governments, businesses and societies.
"The UAE is open to all sorts of partnership," Dr Al Nuaimi said, stressing that the relationship should not be viewed solely through energy, investment or security. "Our partnership is not limited to investment to make money," he said. "Our partnership is not limited to government-to-government relationship."
Hasse-Mohsine said the relationship has grown into one that extends well beyond economics. "It is also a cultural, it's a person-to-person relationship," she said, adding that the two countries also cooperate on development and humanitarian efforts.
The economic dimension, however, remains substantial. Around 2,000 German companies operate in the UAE, with German businesses increasingly viewing the Emirates as a platform for reaching wider markets across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Energy, too, remains a priority, with cooperation shifting from traditional energy security toward renewables and decarbonisation.
People-to-People Links
But the speakers emphasised that the bilateral relationship's strength will ultimately depend on the connections between the two societies.
"I'm a very firm believer of intercultural and interpersonal exchange," Hasse-Mohsine said. "Government can create partnership, but it's really the people that have to fill it with life."
Education illustrates that connection: the UAE is home to three German schools — in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah — while universities and institutions in both countries maintain cooperation and exchange programmes, Hasse-Mohsine said.
Youth mobility is also building links between the two societies. The diplomat pointed to programmes that have given young Emiratis professional experience in Germany, including a recent one that placed 20 Emirati graduates with German companies in fields such as construction and aeronautical engineering.
Tourism provides another bridge. Roughly 1.2 million Germans visited the UAE in one year, Hasse-Mohsine said, reflecting the scale of travel and growing familiarity between the two societies.
These exchanges, she added, matter most for younger generations, who will carry the relationship forward with a deeper understanding of each other's cultures.
