Abu Dhabi blueprint sets big goals for non-oil sector
Abu Dhabi blueprint sets big goals for non-oil sector
Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi government is putting in place plans to ensure that non-oil growth outstrips the oil sector in another 20 years. The aim is help the non-oil sector of the economy grow to a point where it accounts for 64 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030, a senior official told the Abu Dhabi Economic Forum on Monday.
Mohammad Omar Abdullah, undersecretary of the Abu Dhabi Department of Planning and Economy (DPE), said the Abu Dhabi government's blueprint for the future of the economy is aimed at diversifying the economy away from oil, ensuring transparency and opening up new avenues for foreign investment.
"The government aims at restructuring the public sector to become a regulator of public service rather than a provider, which will allow the private sector to step in. The government will also expand in industries and services in which the emirate has a competetive advantage including tourism and logistics."
The government, Abdullah said, will now focus on the quality of healthcare, education and training. The programmes are set out in Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, a report developed by the Abu Dhabi Council for Economic Development in coordination with the General Secretariat of the Executive Council and the Department of Planning and Economy.
Abu Dhabi is currently undertaking a massive government restructuring programme to come out with a formula of governance that could produce a sustainable and constructive public-private partnership.
Abdullah said Abu Dhabi would defy the global fin-ancial turmoil, with its economy growing at 4.5 per cent.
The report, however, forecast that the Abu Dhabi economy will grow at seven per cent a year for the next six years and thereafter by six per cent.
Gross domestic product will increase more than five times over the next 21 years, with boosts for foreign investment levels and the introduction of a statistical base for measuring the country's economic performance.
"The Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 provides a clear road map for the ongoing evolution of Abu Dhabi's economy," said Nasser Ahmad Al Suwaidi, chairman of the Department of Planning and Economy.
"The plan seeks to harness the emirate's assets and resources to ensure the local economy continues to grow sustainably while delivering significant benefits to the entire community."
The Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 was carefully developed by analysing macroeconomic data that takes into account market cycles, growth and recessionary trends, as well as oil price fluctuations.
Meanwhile, more than 800 leaders from governments, businesses, banks and companies from 25 countries are scheduled to discuss the global financial system, the new global environment for investing, the future of oil and the role of the government.
Co-organised by the DPE and Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal Group, a publishing group, with the support of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the forum enables authorities and professionals to address Abu Dhabi's legal and regulatory environment for investments, new fundamentals and opportunities in the property sector, and offer post-crisis strategies.
