The Kingdom of Sweden - UAE Relationships

Sweden and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have a long tradition of trading between the countries. The trade has been facilitated, mainly due to that fact that both parts has signed the World Trade Organization agreement and that both countries are members since the 1990-ies (https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org6_e.htm). 

• Sweden exported goods and services 2010 to the UAE for a value of 384.14 M EUR which represents 3.22% of the entire Swedish export. 
• During 2010 the import from UAE to Sweden amounted to 18.98 M EUR, representing only 0.017% of the total Swedish import. 
• The export from Sweden to the UAE during year 2005 to 2010; (M EUR): 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 1 EUR* = 9.2847 SEK 1 EUR* = 9.2549 SEK 1 EUR* = 9.2481 SEK 1 EUR* = 9.6055 SEK 1 EUR* = 10.6213 SEK 1 EUR* = 9.5413 SEK 351.97 477.99 497.05 576.44 316.84 384.14 Table 1. Export from Sweden to the UAE from 2005 to 2010, http://www.scb.se/Pages/SubjectArea6597.aspx. 
• (*Annual average currency rate, www.riksbanken.se ). 

Table 1. 

Showed that the export from Sweden to the UAE has grown with 12.14% between 2005 and 2010. The import to Sweden from the UAE during year 2005 to 2010; (M EUR): 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 1 EUR* = 9.2847 SEK 1 EUR* = 9.2549 SEK 1 EUR* = 9.2481 SEK 1 EUR* = 9.6055 SEK 1 EUR* = 10.6213 SEK 1 EUR* = 9.5413 SEK 285.69 26.83 12.71 44.51 15.25 40.25 

Table 2.

Import from the UAE to Sweden from 2005 to 2010, http://www.scb.se/Pages/SubjectArea____6597.aspx.   

(*Annual average currency rate, www.riksbanken.se  ). 

Table 2 indicated that the amount of the import varied a lot during this period, from the lowest value in 2007, with only 12.71 M EUR up to 285.69 M EUR in year 2005.

Statistics from 2011 are today only available up to the 31 of October; (M EUR) Export to the UAE 2011, From 1/1 to 31/10 Import from the UAE 2011, From 1/1 to 31/10 1 EUR* = 9.0234 SEK 1 EUR* = 9.0234 SEK 416.04 39.64 Table 3. Export and import figures from 1 Jan. to 31 Oct.2011. http://www.scb.se/Pages/SubjectArea____6597.aspx.  

(*Average currency rate 1/1 - 31/10, www.riksbanken.se ). 

Table 3

With figures from the 10 first months 2011, also showed that the trend from the years before consists, where Sweden exports a lot to the UAE than they import, 416.04 M EUR in export value compared with only 39.64 M EUR in import value. The main goods exported from Sweden to the UAE is industrial engines and vehicles and the on the import side, oil and gas products have been most common. Read more; http://www.scb.se/Pages/SubjectArea____6597.aspx.

• The UAE is Sweden´s second largest export market in the Arab World after the Saudi Arabia  www.scb.se
• More than 250 Swedish companies are established in the UAE, from the global firms IKEA, Volvo, H&M, AstraZeneca and Sony/Ericsson to minor firms in various businesses such as in the medical field and within the Cleantech field  www.sbcuae.se
• Sweden companies have been an important player in the development of the UAE during the last 40 years since the unification 1971, mainly within construction, health care systems and in the environmental field.
• Symbio City in Masdar City - the first carbon zero and waste free city in the world, outside Abu Dhabi. Sweden will be represented in Symbio City, where Swedish Cleantech and Sustainable Development will get their first representation office in the Middle East  www.masdar.ae.
• Sweden and the United Arab Emirates have signed a five-year cooperation agreement in the environmental and energy technology. Its purpose is to promote technical cooperation and technology transfer in sustainable urban development and combating climate change.
• The Agreement was signed in June 2011, by Maud Olofsson, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Enterprise and H. H. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister of the UAE  (http://energimyndigheten.se/sv/Internationellt/Bilaterala-avtal/Samarbetsavtal-med-Forenade-Arabmeiraten/)

Meeting with a number of Emirati institutions and officials, the board of directors of the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education ('STINT') visited universities across Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah to identify new opportunities for international education and cultural exchange. Start-up of cooperation of student exchanges between the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and the Universities in the UAE.