(MENAFN- Mid-East Info) Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and CEO of Expo City Dubai Authority, welcomed mayors, city leaders and businesses from across Ukraine to Expo City Dubai for a gathering aimed at enhancing city-to-city business and cultural relations.

With mayors and urban coalitions increasingly at the forefront of global problem-solving, the CityConnect Dialogue: UAE – Ukraine Business and & Cultural Exchange reflected the city's focused efforts to establish direct, foundational relationships with Ukrainian cities and regions.

It was attended by city leaders from eight Ukrainian cities including Vasylkiv in Kyiv region, Zhovkva, Sumy, Poltava, Chortkiv, Zhmerynka, Horishni Plavni and Zvaihel and took place on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Cities Summit and Mayors' Forum – a global cities summit being hosted at Expo City Dubai.

Building city-to-city connections:

Participants – including representatives of the business community of Ukraine in the UAE, under the Ukrainian Business Council – discussed enhancing business connections, deepening cultural exchange and strengthening efforts toward joint solutions to challenges facing urban development and city infrastructures.

The gathering reflected a shared commitment to creating sustainable, smart cities through deeper urban cooperation, and sought to create opportunities for public-private partnerships around inclusive innovation zones, infrastructure, technology sectors, green energy and mobility projects, as well as information technology and FinTech.

It builds on the landmark Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), jointly signed in February 2025, to further cement business, trade and investment relations, and moves beyond state-level engagement to direct partnerships with cities and the private sector.

The UAE is one of Ukraine's largest trading partners in the Middle East and North Africa. Non-oil bilateral trade reached USD 372.4 million in 2024 and the CEPA – the first Ukraine has signed with a Gulf country – is expected to contribute USD 369 million to the UAE's GDP and USD 874 million to Ukraine's GDP by 2031.

Mayors and city leaders are in Dubai for a three-day global cities summit where they will dive deep into the challenges facing cities across the world, leveraging shared experiences in rapid urban development and infrastructure deployment to tackle global challenges such as climate resilience and citizen wellbeing.

About Expo City Dubai:

Expo City Dubai, the legacy city of Expo 2020 Dubai, is an innovation-driven, people-centric community rooted in the belief that collaboration can propel sustainable progress. Its prime location and world-class connectivity place it at the centre of Dubai's future – the lynchpin between Dubai Exhibition Centre, Al Maktoum International Airport and Jebel Ali Port and a key driver of Dubai's Economic Agenda (D33)

• A world-class free zone, it is home to a thriving business community that supports cross-sector collaboration and provides a springboard for businesses of all sizes to scale and grow, enhancing Dubai's position as a global centre of trade and reinforcing the UAE's development and diversification ambitions
• Its residential communities redefine urban living, exemplifying best practice in innovative, environment-friendly design with a focus on wellbeing and happiness
• An incubator for innovation, it is a testbed for solutions and a platform for groundbreaking ideas that benefit both people and the planet
• Packed with educational, cultural and entertainment offerings, with more than 30 indoor and outdoor venues attracting globally significant events, it celebrates human creativity and ingenuity and inspires future generations
• Designed as a blueprint for sustainable urban living and one of five hubs on the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, its roadmap to achieving net zero by 2050 and its broader decarbonisation targets raise the bar on responsible urban development

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