Ministry of Economy showcases UAE’s economic progress

Ministry of Economy has showcased the country's economic progress to a visiting US student delegation.

Students from New York University recently visited the Ministry of Economy’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi to take a closer look at the UAE’s ambitious economic vision and the government’s key national economic growth indicators, in addition to learning more about the ongoing intensive efforts to strengthen the ties between the Arab state and America in the most important areas of mutual cooperation.

The delegation, consisting of 22 MBA students, were welcomed by Juma Mohammed Al Kait, Assistant Under-Secretary for Foreign Trade Affairs, in the presence of Hind Al Youha, Director of Foreign Trade Policies, Dr. Matar Al Ali, Director of Industrial and Information Management Analysis, Sultan Ahmed Darwish, Director of Trade Negotiations and WTO and Aisha Al Kubaisi, Director of International Organisations Affairs.

Al Kait explained to the visitors that the UAE’s economic vision was developed to build a competitive and diverse economy that is based on knowledge, innovation, and leadership skills of Emiratis. To achieve its vision, the country has taken significant steps to establish a business-friendly environment with modern infrastructure and evolving legislative and regulatory frameworks designed to attract investments in vital and value-added local sectors.

He said that despite a number of regional and global challenges, the UAE economy has sustained its growth rate with the country’s real GDP rising by 3.8 percent in 2015. Similarly, the non-oil sectors growth accounted for 70 percent during the same period.

Al Kait also highlighted robust economic relations between the two countries, noting that the US is the country's third largest trading partner. The US was ranked 11 in the list of importing countries. The total foreign non-oil trade between the two countries reached more than US$15.2 billion during the first half of 2016 alone, including free zones trade. In 2015, the non-oil trade volume reached more than US$27.8 billion.

Al Youha presented a comprehensive report on the fundamental elements of country's economy, as well as the its resilience and investment incentives, key economic trends in line with UAE Vision 2021 and the National Strategy for Innovation, and important achievements globally in terms of foreign trade and competitiveness.

The meeting concluded with an open forum where ministry officials addressed queries on country’s local and international business affairs.