While oil-exporting countries face significant challenges as result of global economic turbulence and falling oil prices; the UAE continues to achieve new levels of economic growth. This comes as a direct result of the UAE wise leadership’s forward-looking vision and its precise predictions of the region’s developments-which contribute in facing growing global economic challenges, through developing and putting in place prudent financial policies and sound economic methodology that promotes sustainable economic growth.
This economic growth did not come as a surprise to experts and analysts. The economic diversification policies adopted by the UAE in the early eighties-laid down by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and guided by HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, play an essential role in strengthening income sources and building a national, knowledge-based economy founded on a spirit of creativity and innovation with deep knowledge on global economic challenges. The IMF praised the vision of our wise leadership and the fiscal policies adopted by the Ministry.
HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance, stressed the country’s relentless pursuit of development and prosperity for its people and residents. The diversified financial and economic policies put in place displayed the country’s high ability to cope with the oil exports challenges, debt issue coverage on an external and local level at good cost, as a result of adopting proactive steps in market liberalisation and deregulation, thereby opening up the banking sector to domestic and foreign financial institutions. In fact, this raised the efficiency of the financial system and rates of domestic reserves, and has contributed to the growth of capital markets and the continuous investment for major infrastructure projects.”
HH said: “The UAE continues to gradually restructure its financial system through enhancing financial reserves and developing policies to maintain financial and monetary stability and push sustainable economic growth, as well as policy reforms in removing oil dependency and laying foundations in implementing VAT. The UAE has an important status as active player in economic diversification. Despite being the sixth largest oil exporter, the revenues of this sector amounts to 30% of the total financial resources of the country; where the economic and financial indicators confirm unprecedented growth in other sectors”.
