Abu Dhabi: The UAE’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow between 4 per cent and 4.5 per cent this year, said Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, yesterday.
“The UAE remains committed to its ongoing development and diversification of its economy in keeping with its Vision 2021, which seeks to make the UAE one of the best countries in the world by 2021,” Al Mansouri told Gulf News ahead of the Summit on the Global Agenda, scheduled to start on Monday in Abu Dhabi.
Al Mansouri said despite IMF predictions of weaker global oil prices next year, the UAE’s economy will surge ahead and grow even stronger.
“The impact of oil prices is limited to only between 30 and 33 per cent, or its share in the GDP of the country. We are also planning to reduce this share to only 10 per cent in future,” Al Mansouri said.
The UAE Minister of Economy also ruled out any cut in infrastructure projects.
Stressing that the UAE works with other nations to address common global challenges, Al Mansouri said the UAE has historically punched above its weight economically.
“This year, the UAE was the 30th largest economy in the world. Additionally, the UAE continues to be one of the world’s top investment inductive environments, with Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) exceeding Dh35 billion last year,” Al Mansouri said.
Al Mansouri earlier told a press conference to launch the 6th Summit on the Global Agenda, being held at Yas Marina, the UAE has the world’s fourth best infrastructure and the 14th happiest country in the world and the happiest in the Arab world.
The UAE, he said, remained a generous country and ranked by the OECD as the world’s 16th largest aid donor last year.
While reiterating that the UAE has worked hard to establish itself as an important hub for international trade, Al Mansouri said the UAE Government was investing further in its innovation capabilities to fuel the next phase of its economic development.
Al Mansouri said the UAE has signed deals on innovation and set up SMEs with partners in a range of countries, including South Korea, Canada and Italy, with an agreement likely to be concluded shortly with a partner in Sweden. “These partnerships are meant to make an innovation contribution of five per cent to the GDP by 2021.
Mohammad Omar Abdullah, Undersecretary of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, said he expected that Abu Dhabi’s GDP will grow by 6 per cent this year.
Asked about the outlook of Abu Dhabi’s economy next year, Abdullah said he expected stronger growth next year, at a time when the global economy is expected to slow down.
