UAE foreign trade hits Dh2.2 trillion in 2022

Abu Dhabi: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, today chaired the UAE Cabinet meeting at Qasr Al Watan Abu Dhabi.

The meeting was held in the presence of Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Finance; Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior; and ; and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Court.

Sheikh Mohammed said: Today, I chaired the UAE cabinet meeting in Abu Dhabi. We expressed our sincere condolences and sympathy to Syrian and Turkish people, as well as the families of victims.

He added: “Based on the directives of the President of the UAE, all disaster relief work teams have been directed to coordinate with the two brotherly countries to provide all kinds of aid.

“During the Cabinet meeting, we reviewed the results of the UAE's foreign trade in 2022. Our foreign trade achieved a historical record reaching more than Dh2.2 trillion, a growth of 17 per cent.”

Sheikh Mohammed added: “Today, we approved the National Framework for Sustainable Development in the UAE… The goal is to preserve ecosystems and ensure the sustainability of our natural resources… We also assigned the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment to coordinate government efforts in preparation for hosting COP28.”

He said: “We approved the executive decisions to establish the National Space Fund, which aims to support the implementation of ambitious national projects in the field of space, support youth capabilities and competencies, and attract the best space companies to the UAE market.”

Sheikh Mohammed added: “We assigned the competent entities to submit an urgent study to the Cabinet on how to benefit from new AI technologies in government work, examine its future effects on the educational, health, media and other sectors, and how the government will deal positively and safely with these technologies”.

UAE non-oil foreign trade

The non-oil foreign trade of the UAE achieved record growth rates in 2022, reaching Dh2.233 trillion, with a growth rate of 17 per cent compared to 2021. The country has exceeded the Dh2 trillion barrier for the first time in history. This achievement comes after the country's non-oil foreign trade achieved a growth of 12 per cent in 2020, recording Dh1.496 trillion, and recorded a jump of 28 per cent in 2021 to reach Dh1.911 trillion.

The National Framework for Sustainable Development

The UAE Cabinet approved the National Framework for Sustainable Development, which represents a comprehensive framework for all approved national strategies, policies and agendas concerned with organizing environmental work in the country, and maintaining a sustainable environment that supports economic growth. The framework includes 5 main pillars: nature, environmental health, climate change, living organisms, and biosecurity.

The National Framework aims to enhance the quality of life in the country, promote diversification and economic prosperity, preserve the UAE's ecosystems, sustain its ecological resources and services, and support the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

In 2022, the UAE topped the Yale University's 2022 Environmental Performance Index in six environmental indicators globally, becoming the first regionally, in the Arab world and in the Gulf.

COP28

As part of the ongoing preparation for the UAE to host the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), the cabinet approved assigning the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment to coordinate with federal and local authorities to prepare the country's readiness plan for the event, and ensure the participation of federal government entities in organizing this global event.

UAE Green Agenda 2030

The Cabinet was briefed on developments in the implementation of the UAE Green Agenda 2030, which aims to achieve the goals of sustainable development, and the objectives of UAE Centennial 2071.

During the coming period 2023-2030, the UAE will implement initiatives and projects to support the goals of green economy, including increasing GDP by 4% to 5% by 2030, increasing exports by about 24 to 25 billion dirhams by 2030, and reducing emissions from 430 kilowatt-hours in 2013 to less than 100 kilowatt-hours by 2030.

National Space Fund

During the meeting, a resolution regarding the establishment of the National Space Fund was adopted. The Fund which will be managed and supervised by the UAE Space Agency, aims to build national capabilities and competencies, raise the economic contribution to diversifying the national economy, and consolidate the UAE’s position in the space sector. The Fund is set to develop the infrastructure supporting the space industry, and create an appropriate environment to attract startup companies in space. In addition, the National Space Fund aims at adopting governance systems to achieve leadership in the space sector, attracting specialized global companies, and building partnerships between national and international advanced technology companies.

National policies for Cybersecurity

The Cabinet meeting approved the National Policy for IoT security, the National Program for Cybersecurity Accreditation, the National Policy for Cloud Security. In addition to a number of related policies aiming at providing solutions for current and future challenges related to cybersecurity. The meeting also approved the formation of a national committee to combat cyber-attacks.

Advance Government work with AI technologies

The Cabinet approved a policy to raise the efficiency of government work through the use of artificial intelligence technologies. The policy includes standards and guidelines that guarantee safe use of AI, and the scope of its use in government work. The policy aims at increasing the productivity and efficiency in various sectors, enhancing competitiveness and the quality of government services, and provides more training opportunities for employees.

'Made in UAE'

The Cabinet adopted a decision on updating the “Made in the UAE” unified national mark ecosystem, in order to support national products. The update includes simplifying the procedures for obtaining the mark, allowing industrial facilities in free zones to obtain it, and confirming the facility's commitment to product safety through the application of conformity standards.

Nafis

The Cabinet was briefed on the developments of Emiratisation programs in the private sector, and issued a decision regarding the amendment of some provisions related to the goals of the “Nafis” initiatives, so that the annual target for Emiratisation is divided throughout the year by one per cent in the first six months of the year and the other one per cent in the second half of the year.

The UAE Cabinet meeting approved a decision regarding the issuance of executive regulations for a number of federal laws and legislations, including the federal law regarding protecting witnesses and secret sources; the Federal Law regarding accessing genetic resources and their derivatives; the federal law regarding private health facilities, in accordance with the UAE’s policy regarding foreign investor ownership; the Federal Decree-Law regarding Electronic Transactions and Trust Services. The Cabinet approved a resolution regarding the structure of Islamic sukuk.

The meeting has approved the establishment of a number of embassies in several countries, including Copenhagen, the Kingdom of Denmark; Prague, Czech Republic; Helsinki, the Republic of Finland; Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

The Cabinet approved several international agreements with a number of friendly countries, including the Republic of Lithuania, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Republic of Poland, the Russian Federation and Israel. Also, during the meeting the Cabinet reviewed a number of annual reports for the year 2022.