The United Arab Emirates (UAE) non-oil foreign trade has reached heights, showcasing the country’s resilience and strategic economic diversification efforts.
According to Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, the nation continues to break records in its non-oil trade, reflecting a robust recovery and growth trajectory.
It reached an all-time high of AED1.395 trillion in the first half of 2024 – the sixth consecutive half-year period of foreign trade growth.
This new milestone marks an 11.2 per cent increase in foreign trade compared to H1 in 2023, and underscores the success of the UAE’s economic diversification strategies, he said, adding that this is best embodied by the increase of the UAE’s non-oil exports, which grew 25 per cent compared to H1 2023 to reach AED256.4 billion.
The trade ministry emphasised that key sectors, including gold, silver, jewellery, oils, perfumes, aluminium, copper wires, and iron products, have led this impressive surge in non-oil exports, demonstrating the country’s enhanced global competitiveness, reported by Emirates News Agency WAM.
Importantly, it’s clear that our Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) programme is playing a central role in achieving these record results, Dr Al Zeyoudi stated.
He stressed that bilateral trade with CEPA partners India and Türkiye grew 15 and 9.8 per cent respectively, and, together, now account for 11.7 per cent of the UAE’s total foreign trade.
“As we continue to expand and finalise more CEPA deals, we anticipate further growth, steering us toward our ambitious target of AED4 trillion in non-oil foreign trade by 2031.” he further said.
“As we look to the future, we will ensure that the UAE continues to leverage the power of trade to drive sustainable, long-term economic growth and prosperity for our nation,” Dr Al Zeyoudi concluded.
