Representatives from enterprises in the Middle East and Wuxi ink cooperation agreements during the Wuxi delegation's visit to the region. [Photo/Wuxi Daily]
A Wuxi delegation from East China's Jiangsu province visited Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, two countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, from Aug 13 to 17 to promote itself and advance cooperation.
During the five-day visit, the Wuxi delegation facilitated the signing of 34 projects worth more than $3.86 billion.
The delegation also organized local enterprises to discuss cooperation with Saudi Arabia counterparts under the BRI and "We the UAE 2031" Vision, and visit the industrial zones and seek financial cooperation in UAE.
The China-UAE Industrial Capacity Cooperation Demonstration Zone in the Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi. [Photo/Wuxi Daily]
Forging sister-city relationships is an important way to carry out international exchanges and cooperation. The Wuxi delegation and Al Ain in UAE celebrated the fifth anniversary of the establishment of friendly exchange relationships and both sides agreed to organize more economic, cultural, and sporting activities together in the future.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the BRI and as an important manufacturing base and opening-up city in China, Wuxi has been dedicated to promoting BRI construction.
In recent years, Wuxi has seen close economic and trade exchanges with Saudi Arabia and UAE and a more solid cooperation foundation.
Statistics show that in 2022, Wuxi's trade with Saudi Arabia totaled $1.11 billion, up 8.9 percent year-on-year and its trade with UAE reached $660 million, a year-on-year increase of 12.6 percent. As of July this year, Wuxi businesses had invested $410 million in 29 projects in UAE.