No impact on UAE growth, minister says

Abu Dhabi: The UAE's economic growth will not be affected by the global financial crisis in 2008 and 2009 will be a "testing year", Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, the Minister of Economy, said yesterday.

"This year is not too much of a problem; it won't affect our growth. But 2009 will be a testing year for us and for the world economy," Al Mansouri told reporters on the sidelines of a conference.

However, Al Mansouri said the OPEC oil exporter might continue to maintain its growth in 2009 despite the economic slowdown, which he said will not affect plans to diversify the economy away from heavy reliance on oil.

He declined to give figures about the real growth this year. "No numbers ... We can't predict at this stage," he said. "The UAE economy is strong, well-organised and lot of steps have been taken by the government and financial institutions to address the impact of the credit crisis."

"Diversification of the economy will continue and it is being encouraged. There are important plans for diversifying the economy," he said without elaborating.

States across the world's biggest oil-exporting region are trying to cope with the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression, which threatens to restrain a regional boom.