Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, President of the Republic of Chad and Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. Photo courtesy of WAM.
About 40 deals were signed with entities and companies from the central African country which borders war-ravaged Sudan, the minister said in Abu Dhabi.
"We see tremendous development opportunities to ensure growth and stability in the country," UAE Foreign Trade Minister Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi told reporters at the two-day UAE-Chad Trade and Investment Forum.
"Is Chad a strategic country for us? Of course."
Chad officials used the forum in the UAE capital to launch a national development plan targeting $30 billion in investment.
This month, the United Nations warned of an influx of Sudanese refugees to Chad after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took the city of El-Fasher, reportedly committing a series of atrocities.
Sudan's army has accused the UAE of supporting the RSF with weapons and mercenaries sent via African nations, including Chad. The UAE has repeatedly denied the allegations.
The oil-rich UAE invested more than $110 billion in Africa between 2019-2023, making it the world's biggest backer of new projects there, the Ministry of Economy and Tourism said last month.
A Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement trade deal with Chad could be signed by the end of the year, Zeyoudi said. Non-oil trade rose 32 percent to $1.9 billion last year, he added.
The new investment deals for Chad will be worth more than $6.2 billion if they are fully implemented, the minister said.
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