UAE Cabinet, chaired by Mohammed bin Rashid, reviewed the results of efforts to develop the country’s legislative, economic and investment infrastructure

President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, presided over the cabinet meeting held at Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi, in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court; 

His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Viceroy of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance; Lieutenant-General His Highness Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior; and His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Commenting on the occasion, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said: “We took stock of progress during the new academic year, as our schools welcomed 1.1 million students and studies began successfully at our national and private universities. The education world welcomed the start of the year with clear directives from my brother, the President of the State, may God protect him. Thank God, studies have resumed. Looking forward to a successful academic year and an educational pathway capable of meeting the nation’s aspirations.

The economic decisions taken by the government during and after the Corona pandemic have helped to achieve real, tangible results, thank God, as the number of businesses in the country reached 405,000 by the end of the first half of 2020, according to statistics on valid licenses. The country has grown rapidly, ranking fifth in the world for real GDP growth and among the top ten international economies for its competitiveness indicators. 

As a result, the legislative structure for investment in the country’s markets has been improved. They marked a turning point in combining national efforts and strengthening cooperation with the private sector and major international institutions in the field of economic legislation, in order to develop flexible and competitive laws and policies in many economic and investment sectors and activities.

These efforts and the system of legislation, policies and decisions have led to a number of achievements and positive results for the national economy, including the country’s non-oil GDP at constant prices reaching 6.2% growth in 2023, placing the UAE economy in fifth place worldwide in the GDP real economic growth index, and among the world’s top 10 economies in a group of GDP-related global competitiveness indicators.https://thepakistan.pk/uae-economy-to-grow-more-faster-next-year-imf/

Economic legislation and policies have also contributed to the addition of 616,000 new businesses to the country’s markets in the period from September 2020 to the first half of this year, and to the country’s registration of inbound foreign direct investment projects in 2023, amounting to over 112 billion dirhams, with a growth rate of around 35% compared to 2022, and the registration of over 136,000 trademarks in the period from 2019 to mid-2024. These updates have also helped to make the UAE a competitive business environment for commerce thanks to modern technologies, reflected in the presence of more than 24,000 companies specializing in e-commerce.

In addition, during the meeting, the Cabinet approved the National Strategy for Combating Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Proliferation (2024-2027), which includes 11 national strategic objectives, most notably unifying the understanding of money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation risks, ensuring the sustainability of international cooperation and strategic partnerships, 

The Council reviewed developments in the UAE’s National Agenda for Non-Oil Export Development for the year 2023, which saw the country achieve unprecedented record figures according to its final figures, with the value of the country’s foreign trade in non-oil goods surpassing the AED 2.614 trillion barrier, with a growth rate of 14.3% compared to 2022 and around 37% and 53% compared to 2021 and 2019 respectively. The country’s non-oil commodity export value also reached AED 440 billion for the first time in the sector’s history, with a growth rate of 16.3% compared to 2022, and an increase of 28%, 66% and 84% compared to 2021, 2020 and 2019 respectively.

The UAE ranks first in the Arab world in terms of the value of non-oil commodity exports, with a third of Arab countries’ non-oil exports to the world coming from the UAE. 

With four agreements now in force, the comprehensive economic partnership program is expected to increase UAE exports by 33% and contribute more than AED 153 billion to the country’s GDP by 2031, representing growth of around 10% compared with 2022. They approved a decision to reconstitute the “Supreme Committee for Free Trade Negotiations”, headed by Economy Minister Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri.

The Cabinet reviewed the government’s state-level financial statistics for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023 (including federal government statistics, in addition to local government statistics), where government revenues totaled 546 billion dirhams, and total government expenditures amounted to 402.387 billion dirhams.