The UAE is the first in the Arab world and the 17th in the world in services exports
The UAE ranked first in the Arab world and 17th in the world in services exports, registering a growth in the value of the country's services exports reaching 2.3%.
In terms of services imports, the country ranked second in the Arab world after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and ranked 18 in the world, registering a growth in the value of imports reaching 2.4% according to the results of the "Global Trade in Services for 2019" report issued by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development "UNCTAD" .
The report stated that the volume of world trade in services in 2019 recorded $ 6.2 trillion, achieving a growth of 2% compared to the same period in 2018 .. And the volume of world trade in services in 2019 accounted for 24% of the total volume of global trade in goods. And services together. "
UNCTAD estimated the growth in the volume of world exports of services during the year 2019 by 1.9% compared to 2018, and constituted 24.8% of the world's total exports of "goods and services together." While the volume of world services imports grew by 2.1% in 2019 compared to 2018, they accounted for 24.2% of the world's total imports of "goods and services together".
Economy Minister Abdullah bin Touq Al-Marri said that the UAE has an economy that is the most open in the world, as the state has established its relations with more than 200 countries and (a customs limit that includes free zones) around the world, and as a result of continued investment in developing the commercial infrastructure, the country has become Today, an international trade center and a major destination on the global trade map, which is translated by the advanced centers that the country reaps on various reports and indicators of global competitiveness.
Ibn Touq added that the services trade is one of the sectors that enjoy high growth rates in the world, especially in light of the technological and digital transformation of the vast various economic activities, and the UAE has promising capabilities to acquire the largest share of this trade, not only regionally, but also globally from During the state's continuous efforts to develop advanced infrastructure and technology and work to build the state's capabilities in many service sectors that constitute a real bet for comprehensive and sustainable development, whether in terms of information and communication technology, transport services, logistics, financial services, insurance services, and other sectors that the state has succeeded in Building its reputation and enhancing its competitiveness in the foreign market.
He pointed out that the flexible package and the 33-initiative plan to support the economic sectors that the state is working on during the next phase pays great attention to developing the state's capabilities in service sectors that add value to the national economy and enhance economic diversification policies.
For his part, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi, said that these results, which were mentioned in the UNCTAD report, confirm the competitive position of the UAE in the field of services trade, which was achieved as a result of a long-term vision, flexible trade and economic policies, and an advanced technological and digital environment that encourages The growth and prosperity of this type of vital economic activities, adding that the regional leadership achieved by the state in services trade gives a clear indication of the attractiveness of the business environment in the country and its ability to attract the best international companies operating in this field.
Al-Zeyoudi added, the successive technological developments have imposed wide-ranging changes on the trends of international trade, and the UAE takes into account the importance of promoting digital transformation as it is the engine of many future commercial activities, and the economic plan and the 33 initiatives launched by the state have attached great importance to the development of companies operating in digital fields. And technology, as the main generator of services, which will contribute to increasing the UAE's share of global services exports.
The World Trade Report comes from services issued by UNCTAD to monitor recent trends in global trade in services, highlighting the main regional trends, as well as developments with major global players in the field of services trade.
In detail, the Asian continent and the Oceania region (a region centered on the Pacific Islands) ranked first in the world in terms of services exports for the year 2019 in terms of annual growth rate, with an annual growth rate of 3.1%, followed by Africa with a rate of 2.3%.
On the services imports side for 2019, Europe ranked first in terms of annual growth rate and had the highest annual growth rate of 5%. On the other hand, Latin America and the Caribbean witnessed the highest negative decline of -4%. Asia and Oceania also witnessed a decline in their services imports by -1.4%.
Looking at the world's exports of services during the year 2019 according to the relative importance of the economic sectors, the travel sector came in first place with a total value of $ 1.44 trillion, and accounted for 24% of the world's total exports of services, while the transport sector came in second place with a total value of 1.03 A trillion dollars, which account for 17% of the world's total exports of services.
The communications and information technology sector came in third place, with a total value of $ 678 billion, accounting for 11% of the world's total services exports, followed by the financial services sector, whose exports amounted to about $ 520 billion, accounting for 8% of the world's total exports of services. .
Government services exports amounted to about $ 409 billion, accounting for 7% of the world's total exports of services, and fees for the use of intellectual property exports amounted to about $ 409 billion, accounting for 7% of the world's total exports of services.
The volume of exports of insurance and retirement services amounted to about $ 137 billion, accounting for 2% of the world's total exports of services, and the volume of exports of the construction sector amounted to about $ 115 billion, accounting for 1.9% of the world's total exports of services.
Trade in services according to geographical distribution
In terms of exports, 55% of the world's total exports of services are acquired by 10 countries, "the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, China, the Netherlands, Ireland, India, Japan and Singapore".
The United States ranked first in the world in services exports, with a total of $ 876 billion in 2019, with a growth of 1.6% compared to 2018.
The UAE ranked first in the Arab world and 17th in the world in services exports, with a total value of $ 73 billion during the year. 2019, a growth of 2.3% compared to 2018.
The UAE also ranked seventh in the group of developing countries in services exports for 2019.
In terms of imports, the United States ranked first in the world in services imports, with a total value of $ 588 billion during 2019, with a growth of 4.7% compared to 2018.
The United Arab Emirates ranked second in the Arab world after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and ranked 18 in the world in services imports, with a total value of $ 74 billion during 2019, with a growth of 2.4% compared to 2018.
The UAE also ranked seventh in the group of developing countries in terms of services imports for 2019.
It is worth noting that the UAE, under its membership in the World Trade Organization, implements the obligations of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), and the Free Trade Agreement between the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the Republic of Singapore includes obligations to liberalize trade in services. The UAE has also become a member of the agreement to liberalize trade in services between Arab countries.