Sheikh Mohammed announces D33, Dubai's economic agenda for the next decade

Dubai: Dubai has adopted ‘D33’, the Emirate’s new economic agenda for the next ten years, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced on Wednesday. Under D33, Dubai aims to double the size of its economy during the next decade and to be among the top three economic cities in the world.

“In line with our long-standing tradition of launching key new initiatives today (January 4), we approved the Dubai Economic Agenda ‘D33’,” said Sheikh Mohammed. “D33 includes 100 transformative projects, with economic targets of Dh32 trillion over the next 10 years, doubling our foreign trade to reach Dh25.6 trillion and adding 400 cities as key trading partners over the next decade”.

With the new initiative, Dubai aims to be one among the top four global financial hubs in the world, and attract over Dh650 billion as foreign direct investments over the next decade. Dubai will also draw a Dh100 billion contribution from digital transformation annually.

“We have more than 300,000 investors in Dubai and I invite everyone to join our journey to be one of the fastest growing cities in the world,” said Sheikh Mohammed.

The announcement comes as Dubai celebrates Sheikh Mohammed’s 17th accession anniversary.

“2033 will mark 200 years since the foundation of Dubai: the year in which Dubai will be the most important global business centre, and by then we would have completed the D33 Agenda,” he said. “We know our economic path over the next decade.”

“The world makes way for those who know what they want.”

Ideal investment environment

The D33 economic agenda includes the launch of innovative projects. The value of the total targets set by the initiative is Dh32 trillion by 2033. The program aims to drive sustainable economic growth through innovative approaches.

“The Dubai Economic Agenda ‘D33’ will accelerate growth by investing in human development, skillsets and advanced technology and consolidating Dubai’s global competitiveness, innovation and knowledge-based economy,” Dubai Media Office said in a release. “The Agenda will invest in enhancing the advantages gained from Dubai’s strategic location and its advanced infrastructure to raise the city’s status as a preferred destination for major international companies and investments.”

Ambitious goals

The D33 agenda sets ambitious goals including raising the total value of foreign trade in goods and services from Dh14.2 trillion in the past 10 years to Dh25.6 trillion in the next decade. It also aims to raise the contribution of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Dubai’s economy from an average of Dh32 billion annually in the past decade, to an average of Dh60 billion annually in the next decade to reach a total of Dh650 billion over the next 10 years.

The initiative will see a growth in government expenditures from Dh512 billion in the past decade to Dh700 billion in the next decade, with increased investment in future growth sectors and further development of traditional trade and economic sectors. One of the pivotal goals of D33 is to raise the competitiveness of the city’s thriving business sector, which will enable the increase of private sector investment from Dh790 billion in the past decade to Dh1 trillion by 2033. It also aims to increase the value of domestic demand of goods and services from Dh2.2 trillion in the past decade to Dh3 trillion in the coming decade. Other objectives of the program include generating new economic value from digital transformation, at an average of Dh100 billion annually.

Top priorities

The newly launched agenda focuses on a set of key priorities for the next decade, including raising the value added of the industrial sector and promoting export growth, contributing to sustainable economic growth, and achieving self-sufficiency in a number of key sectors and industries, including manufacturing. Other key priorities include making Dubai one of the five leading logistic hubs in the world, and one of the top four global financial centres. It also seeks to increase the productivity of Dubai’s economy by 50 per cent through innovation and digital solutions.

Moreover, the agenda aims to integrate new generations of Emiratis into the private sector, making Dubai an international hub for global multinational companies (MNCs) and national SMEs.

Another key priority of the D33 Agenda is to make Dubai one of the top three international destinations for tourism and business by providing a globally competitive environment for business sustainability and driving down the cost of doing business across a number of sectors.

First set of projects

The project seeks to add 400 cities as key trade partners and launch the Dubai Economic Corridors 2033 initiative, which will enhance existing foreign trade relations with Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. It will include a programme to support the growth of 30 companies in new sectors to become global unicorns, and integrate 65,000 young Emiratis into the workforce and the private sector. The Dubai Traders Project (DT33) will empower a new generation of Dubai traders in various major growth sectors, driving growth in the city’s vibrant trading hub.

The first set of projects of the Agenda also include the Dubai Unified License that will provide a unique commercial identity for all companies across economic zones, and ‘Sandbox Dubai’, which aims to make Dubai a major hub for incubating business innovation by enabling the testing and marketing of new products and technologies.

D33 also includes the launch of the Dubai Project to attract the world’s best universities, as part of the broader aim of making Dubai a leading global hub for higher education, and a programme to promote the growth of SMEs by identifying 400 high-potential companies and supporting their capacity-building and global expansion.