The UAE qualifies to be the number one destination for family businesses in the region

Al-Iqtissad: We completed the economic recovery plan and started a new phase of growth

The Minister of Economy during his interview with "WAM".

wam

The Minister of Economy, Abdullah bin Touq Al-Marri, confirmed the completion of the economic recovery plan, and the start of a new phase of growth that is more flexible and sustainable, based on entrepreneurship, talents and technology industries.

strategic directions

He said: "His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, laid down, during his important speech to the people of the Emirates, strategic directions for the course of economic development in the country during the next stage, by promoting openness to the world, and consolidating the principles of cooperation based on respect for common interests, Achieving mutual benefit and enhancing the resilience and sustainability of the national economy with the participation of the private sector.

Al-Marri added, in an interview with the Emirates News Agency (WAM), on the occasion of the announcement of the completion of the economic recovery plan and the start of a new phase of sustainable growth for the national economy, that "foreign trade is a major tributary to the national economy, and one of the pillars of its strength and competitiveness, as the UAE has a wide network of Sea, air and land lines connect it with more than 400 major cities around the world, making it a major commercial hub and regional logistics hub.”

foreign trade

The Minister of Economy stressed that this distinguished position is translated by the foreign trade figures, which witnessed a growth in 2021 of up to 27% over 2020, and about 11% compared to the rates before the “Covid-19” pandemic for 2019, with a value of about 1.9 trillion dirhams.

National non-oil exports also recorded a growth of 47.3% over pre-pandemic rates, with a value of 354 billion dirhams in 2021, while national exports witnessed a growth of up to 17% during the first quarter of 2022.

Free trading

Al Marri pointed out that in light of the challenges the world is witnessing in supply chains, high inflation, as well as geopolitical conditions, the UAE believes that free and open trade based on clear rules remains the best way to stimulate growth and sustainable development.

The Minister of Economy pointed to the completion of three agreements with India, Israel and Indonesia, which open markets that include more than 1.6 billion consumers around the world.

He continued, "In light of the opportunities offered by these three agreements, it is expected that they will add up to $16 billion in the country's GDP over the next 10 years, and increase UAE exports to those markets with a value exceeding $10 billion during the same period." It is expected that it will add about 190,000 job opportunities, including highly qualified and skilled people.”

recovery plan

The Minister of Economy said: "His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, directed in August 2020 the launch of the UAE's economic recovery and development plan, which included 33 initiatives, and was divided into three phases."

He added, "Today, we can say that we have completed the economic recovery plan, and we have started a new phase of growth that is more flexible and sustainable based on entrepreneurship, talents and advanced technological industries, enhancing openness to global markets, and enabling investment opportunities in new economies."

tourism sector

Al-Marri revealed that “the contribution of domestic tourism to the national economy amounted to 23% of the total revenues of the tourism sector, compared to 77% of international tourism, according to the figures for the year 2019 before the pandemic.”

hotel establishments

He continued: "The sector's results for 2021 showed good numbers, as hotel establishments attracted 19 million hotel guests, with a growth of more than 29%, compared to the number of guests for the year 2020, while domestic tourism accounted for 58% of the total number of guests compared to 42% for guests from outside the country.

In 2021, hotel establishments achieved revenues of 28 billion dirhams, achieving a growth of up to 70% compared to 2020.”

He added: "During the past year, more than 75 million hotel nights were booked, an increase of 42% compared to 2020, while the hotel occupancy rate reached 67%, noting that this percentage represents one of the highest rates achieved in the world's leading tourist destinations, and the number of hotel establishments increased during In 2021, it increased by 5%, compared to 2020, to reach 1,144 facilities.

Family companies

Al-Marri said: "The ministry has reached advanced stages of submitting a new draft law on family businesses."

He stressed that the UAE is qualified to be the first destination for family businesses in the region, given that it enjoys the best and most competitive business environment in the region.

He pointed out that one of the main projects that the ministry is working on among its priorities for the next stage is the development of competition law, strengthening mechanisms and controls that protect the consumer, guarantee the interests of investors and achieve market balance.

Alternative markets... and competitive prices

The Minister of Economy touched on the global economic and geopolitical challenges, which directly affected trade lines, production areas, agriculture and the movement of supply chains, which led to imbalances in supply and demand for most commodities, thus increasing inflation rates, and rising prices of basic commodities, especially food ones.

He said: “The reasons for the rise in prices are due to external factors, for this reason the Ministry of Economy deals with this file, by taking into account the balance between the consumer’s interest in obtaining goods at reasonable prices on the one hand, and ensuring the sustainability of supplies and the availability of goods in the markets on the other hand.” He stressed that ensuring supplies is a national priority that serves the country's food security policies.

He said: "The ministry is cooperating with local economic departments, chambers of commerce and relevant partners from the private sector who are suppliers of various commodities and materials that are involved in production processes, to study the global rises in the prices of those materials, and to work in an integrated manner to limit the impact of any uncontrolled rises in The prices of these commodities globally over the final products in the country’s markets,” revealing that “the ministry continues to search for alternative markets to contribute to providing products at competitive prices.”

Developing competition law, strengthening mechanisms and controls that protect consumers, guarantee investors' interests, and achieve market balance.

Abdullah bin Touq Al-Marri:

"The Ministry of Economy has reached advanced stages of raising a new draft law on family businesses."

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