Abu Dhabi: The UAE Minister of Economy, Sultan Al Mansouri, on Monday inaugurated the Global Trade Development Week in Dubai
The three-day event, which aims to support the growth of international trade across all borders, brings together 600 business and government leaders from more than 90 countries to discuss how to tackle trade and development issues.
Speaking on the potential of the global trading system, Al Mansouri called for the removal of barriers to trade.
“We need to remove barriers to trade that hamper economic growth whilst at the same time facilitate trade at borders, which needs both domestic reform and international cooperation, and the world is looking forward to [moving] ahead in the implementation of the new Trade Facilitation Agreement in WTO [World Trade Organisation],” the minister said.
He added that the UAE will continue to grow economically over the next several years to meet its economic diversification targets.
“Our trade and investments are spread out and well-distributed as we interact with 220 markets worldwide. This has given the UAE considerable economic resilience, helped minimise the impact of regional instability on our economy, and enabled us to continue with the development of our country,” Al Mansouri said.
In his speech, the minister also said that the country’s macroeconomic outlook is positive, with economic growth expected at a rate of 4.8 per cent in 2014, and nearly 4.5 per cent in the years to follow.
“The value of foreign direct investments stock in the UAE by the end of 2013 reached $105.5 billion while the value of UAE investments abroad by the end of 2013 amounted to $63 billion,” he said.
Al Mansouri added that the UAE aims to have a five per cent contribution from knowledge economy to the gross domestic product by 2021.
