In barely 50 years, the UAE has managed to build a modern, vibrant, and diverse economy, thanks to its strategic location at a global crossroads, substantial financial reserves, sovereign wealth funds, and investment in major economic and infrastructure projects.
The UAE, on the other hand, has remained a global beacon for talent, innovation, and endeavour, as well as a model environment for investment and entrepreneurship, thanks to its desire to keep pushing forward and expanding the nation’s horizons.
In the Global Competitiveness Report 2021 published by the Global Competitiveness Center, the UAE, for example, was ranked first regionally and ninth globally, and ranked first globally in 22 measures. It has managed to alter the boundaries of what is conceivable in an astonishingly short period of time.
For the next 50 years, the aim will be to continue driving economic development and unleashing opportunity, particularly through promoting small and medium-sized businesses and instilling an entrepreneurial culture across the country.
Attracting FDI in critical areas, particularly those related with the knowledge economy and innovative technology, is one of the UAE’s main goals. Artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, Blockchain, revolutionary medical technology, high-speed transit, augmented virtual reality, robotics, self-driving cars, and renewable energy are just a few of the domains in which the UAE hopes to thrive in the near future.
Despite UN estimates indicating that global foreign direct investment flows fell by 42% in 2020 compared to COVID-19, inward FDI flows to the UAE increased by 44% in 2020 compared to 2019, reaching AED73 billion. According to the results of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s Global Foreign Direct Investment Report for the year 2021, the UAE placed first in the Arab world and 15th internationally in terms of its ability to attract foreign direct investment. Despite the epidemic, it attracted $19.9 billion in FDI in 2020, an increase of 11.24 percent over 2019.
The UAE also placed top in West Asia, receiving 54.4 percent of overall FDI inflows of $36.5 billion, and first in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), receiving 40.2 percent of total FDI inflows of $49.4 billion.
The outlook is positive, thanks to the UAE’s business environment’s flexibility and attractiveness, as well as the regular updating of regulations and processes to meet global standards, which keeps capital inflows coming.
Despite the worldwide epidemic, the UAE’s GDP is expected to reach $421 billion in 2020, indicating a favourable investment climate. The country’s per capita GDP increased to $43,100, surpassing that of the United Kingdom, Spain, New Zealand, and France.
The UAE’s capacity to recover from the pandemic is due in large part to swift, widespread action in March 2020, as well as the effectiveness of sanitation, lockdown, and social distancing measures implemented in the weeks and months that followed. In terms of the economy, the Central Bank’s complete support was similarly important, with a contribution of AED100 billion and a variety of support programmes. As a result, the UAE placed first in the Arab world and second globally in the Consumer Choice Center’s “Resilience to Epidemics 2021” ranking, which evaluated countries’ responses to the commencement of Covid-19.
The UAE Central Bank now forecasts positive growth rates for the national economy by the end of 2021, with real GDP growth of up to 2.5 percent and real non-oil GDP growth of up to 3.6 percent. In 2022, real GDP will expand by 3.5 percent, while real non-oil GDP will grow by 3.9 percent.
The government is collaborating with all stakeholders to double the country’s economy in the next ten years, bringing it to AED3 trillion by 2031.
In a fast changing world, the UAE has undergone continual transformation to establish the best framework for economic success. This has included recent investments in its digital infrastructure, which is the best in the Arab world, as well as legislative revisions to provide the most competitive regulatory and procedural framework.
More than a quarter of the world’s 500 largest firms have their worldwide and regional headquarters in the UAE. It continues to be a popular investment destination for foreign money, with big projects in tourism, industry, transportation, and renewable energy among the top priorities. The UAE is now one of the most advanced countries in the world when it comes to creating a regulatory environment that protects investors and promotes commercial activity by providing a flexible and competitive legislative and procedural framework that encourages foreign investment and ensures business stability.
The UAE has more than 28 business and logistics zones with worldwide competitive capabilities, which contribute significantly to this environment. In 2019, overall goods trade for free zones reached AED658.9 billion, an increase of 11% over the previous year. In 2019, free zone imports totaled AED340.6 billion, while free zone exports totaled AED41.1 billion and re-exports totaled AED277.1 billion.
The UAE is a nation built on trade in many ways, and its logistics infrastructure connects it directly to more than 250 cities across the world. Its shipping lanes connect over 400 cities, and its land, sea, and air transportation networks are the most efficient and geographically diverse in the region. Aside from the oil ports, it has ten commercial airports, 27 airline licences, 105 shipping firms, 12 sea and commercial ports, and roughly 310 marine berths, with an annual cargo handling capacity of more than 17 million tonnes and a tonnage of 80 million tonnes.
In addition, the UAE’s industrial sector benefits from a solid and consistent support structure, aided by economic stability, strategic position, and consistent government investment. Traditional and renewable energy sources, such as minerals, gas, and raw materials crucial to the country’s industries, are also abundant in the country.
The United Arab Emirates is also heavily involved in future energy sources, with renewable energy being a primary priority. Many pioneering attempts are underway to implement the most cutting-edge solutions to combat the effects of climate change and mitigate global warming. To strike a balance between economic needs and environmental aspirations, the Emirates Energy Strategy 2050 calls for a mix of renewable and clean energy sources. The country will invest AED600 billion till 2050 to meet the country’s energy requirements and assure long-term economic prosperity.
“Projects of the 50” sets in motion key initiatives that will determine the UAE’s economic success, with a particular focus on developing a knowledge economy, fostering innovation, strengthening bilateral relations with international partners, and continuously upgrading legal frameworks to attract investment, ideas, entrepreneurs, and workers.
All of these aspects are underlined by “Projects of the 50,” a comprehensive economic and development initiative aimed at showcasing the UAE’s potential and worldwide standards to investors, entrepreneurs, and talents of various nationalities and economic sectors.
When taken as a whole, the UAE remains a base from which people from all over the world can realise their goals.
