UAE's economic indicators strong despite global slowdown, says top official

the emirate’s newly-launched initiative D33 will target key strategic sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, tourism, digitalisation and financial, says Helal Saeed Al Marri, director-general of Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism

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Helal Saeed Al Marri, director-general of Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, said GDP growth was strong in 2022 and it will continue this year.

Published: Mon 23 Jan 2023, 5:38 PM

The UAE’s, especially Dubai, all economic sectors are growing strong amid slowdown in global economy, said a senior official on Monday.

“GDP growth was strong in 2022 and it will continue this year. Trade was a very positive indicator and all this comes in the context of an overall slowdown in the global economy. Tourism went from strengthening and reaching almost pre-pandemic levels. The financial sector grew with a record year for Dubai International Financial Centre with many financial institutions choosing Dubai as their home,” Helal Saeed Al Marri, director-general of Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, said during the opening remarks of the Mena IPO Summit.

He said the emirate’s newly-launched initiative D33 will target key strategic sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, tourism, digitalisation and financial.

The Dubai Economic Agenda “D33” specifies combined economic targets of Dh32 trillion by 2033 to consolidate the emirate’s position among the top three global economic cities. The agenda also aims to double the size of the emirate’s economy over the next 10 years.

After strong growth in 2022, he said there is a “good base definitely for 2023” to maintain good growth.

“D33 was launched to set a clear roadmap and target for 10 years ahead. Looking at key industry sectors, it starts with manufacturing, which has seen highest demand for industrial assets last year and we see this growth continuing as people look to diverse supply chain and geographies,” he said.

While speaking at the inaugural edition of the Mena IPO Summit on Monday, he said logistics is growing strength to strength and digitalization and technology are the priorities where people are investing to increase productivity and invest in further innovation.

The Dubai Financial Market was also part of the D33 programme in order to attract more foreign capital into the equity market.

Highlighting different sectors’ growth potential, he added that Dubai also aims to be among the top three most visited cities while the cost of doing business in Dubai remains lowest and keeping it a resilient place is also a key pillar of the strategy.

“We also saw talent from across the world choosing Dubai as home. Also family businesses, high net worth individuals, global technology giants and web3.0 also moving to Dubai. Overall, along with the progress of the capital market, we did very well. We have a good base definitely for 2023,” he added.

— waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com