Minister for Economy Sultan Al Mansouri said the UAE’s economic strategy since the inception of the Union to date has managed to diversify the sources of income, liberalise the economy and catapult the UAE to the rank of the second largest Arab economy. He added the GDP surged from Dhs6.5 billion in 1971 to over Dhs1 trillion in 2010, up by 150 fold. Per capita jumped from Dhs100,000 in 1975 to Dhs132,000 in 2010. The inflation percentage dropped by 8 per cent in 1979 to 0. 88 per cent in 2010. The minister congratulated President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Their Highnesses Members of Supreme Council and Rulers of Emirates, on the advent of the UAE’s 41st National Day anniversary. He underlined that the ministry managed to strengthen the strategic partnership during 2012 with main partners in line with the framework of the state’s economic policies through the economic cooperation and coordination committee set up upon the Cabinet’s resolution No. (2/334) for 2004. Al Mansoori referred to the growth of the UAE economy by 4.2 per cent in 2011 compared to 1.3 per cent in 2010. Meanwhile, the non-oil sector grew in the same period by 3.1 per cent - an indicator for continuous efforts to diversify sources of income and reduce the dependence on oil. He added that the forecast for the growth of GDP is 3 per cent in 2012 despite the crisis of the global economy, especially slow in recovery of major economies from the world financial crisis in the eurozone.