When France and the UAE meet, Portugal should ask what small businesses gain
By Author & Researcher A.S. Alhebsi
Business News Europe - The UAE–France Business Dialogue in Abu Dhabi on 20 October 2026 offered a familiar picture of international economic diplomacy: leaders, investors and ambitious sectors, from energy to artificial intelligence. I welcome such cooperation. Yet from the perspective of a small Portuguese company, a different question deserves equal attention. Will these partnerships make technology easier to use, financing more accessible and business operations more reliable, or will their benefits remain concentrated among large institutions?
Portugal and the UAE occupy different places in the European and Gulf economies. Portugal has skilled entrepreneurs, a strong connection to Atlantic markets and an expanding technology community. The UAE has built a platform for international trade, investment and cooperation with businesses across regions. These differences create an opportunity. A partnership can connect Portuguese engineering and specialised services with Gulf capital, customers and operational experience. But the value is not automatic. Someone must design a route through which a smaller enterprise can participate.
I have often seen how an impressive strategy becomes less impressive at the level of implementation. A company may hear about a new digital platform but lack the money to integrate it with its existing systems. It may be invited to bid for a major project but be unable to absorb six months of delayed payments. It may purchase advanced equipment only to discover that maintenance, licensing and training cost far more than expected. These are not objections to international investment. They are reminders that investment works best when its practical consequences are understood.
For Portugal, the first test should be access. Can a small manufacturer, logistics provider or software firm discover genuine opportunities arising from European–Gulf cooperation without hiring expensive intermediaries? Public information should explain eligibility, procurement standards, payment schedules and the skills required. A polished announcement is useful for investors; a clear procurement pathway is useful for the business owner who must decide whether to hire another employee.
The second test is capability. Too many partnerships are celebrated when equipment arrives rather than when local teams can operate, repair and improve it. Portugal's universities, vocational institutions and business associations could help turn cross-border projects into training opportunities. The UAE, for its part, can contribute lessons from operating complex infrastructure and coordinating international contractors. The purpose should be reciprocal learning, not the one-way sale of technology.
A third test concerns resilience. If a Portuguese company enters a new Gulf supply chain, it should understand its exposure to shipping delays, cyber incidents, energy costs and changes in demand. The solution is not to discourage expansion. It is to build contracts and contingency arrangements that make expansion survivable. Businesses need realistic payment terms, more than one critical supplier and clarity about who responds when a service stops. These details rarely feature in diplomatic photographs, yet they determine whether an agreement survives its first serious disruption.
My own view is that the strongest international partnerships are the ones that reduce dependency over time. A successful project should leave both sides with more competent employees, stronger institutions and a wider network of capable firms. If one partner retains all the expertise and the other merely pays for access, the arrangement may generate revenue but it has not delivered its full developmental promise.
The UAE–France dialogue is a useful prompt for Portugal, not because Portugal was party to that particular meeting, but because it raises a question relevant to every country seeking international investment. How can governments and businesses convert high-level relationships into measurable opportunities for ordinary enterprises? I would judge progress by the number of smaller companies entering new markets, the skills transferred and the contracts that remain viable after the initial enthusiasm fades.
Portugal does not need to imitate the UAE, and the UAE does not need to imitate Portugal. They can learn from each other's strengths. The challenge is to make cooperation visible not only in investment totals but also in the workshop, office and family business where economic confidence is built one decision at a time.
