UAE reaping fruits of visionary leadership's forward-looking approach: Al Zeyoudi

Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, said that the UAE continues to reap the rewards of its visionary leadership's forward-looking approach through increased global trade and investment openness.

“This is reflected in the record growth in foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, which surged by 35% in 2023, despite the downward trend in global investment flows, which declined by 2% during the same year. Additionally, the UAE jumped five places in one go to rank 11th globally in terms of its ability to attract FDI, according to the World Investment Report 2024 released yesterday by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD),” Al Zeyoudi said.

“The figures in the report confirm that the UAE is continuing to move in the right direction to strengthen its position as a preferred global destination for foreign investors seeking a growth-stimulating business environment and a haven for ambitious entrepreneurs and creative thinkers seeking to transform their ideas and aspirations into tangible reality under the qualitative privileges provided by the State through its world-class infrastructure, flexible legislation and advanced technology, and its initiatives that stimulate business in various sectors and economic activities,” he added.

The minister cited in this regard the NextGenFDI initiative, the first integrated package to facilitate company formation and offer banking, visa and real estate services in a streamlined manner through a whole-of-government approach.

He also pointed to the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPA) programme that the UAE has been implementing since the end of 2021, and under which the UAE has concluded agreements with countries of strategic investment and trade importance on the map of the global economy, with the aim of stimulating trade and investment flows between promising markets with about a quarter of the world's population."

He added: “The value of foreign direct investment that the UAE was able to attract in 2023, amounting to $30.7 billion, is equivalent to about three times that of its closest competitors in the Middle East. And therefore the country has been able to maintain its top position as the most attractive country for investment in the Arab world and regionally with a clear superiority, where it accounted for 45.4% of the total FDI inflows to the Arab countries amounting to $67.6 billion, and 47.1% of the total inflows to West Asia amounting to $65.2 billion, and also about 38.6% of the total foreign direct investment inflows to the Middle East and North Africa region amounting to $79.5 billion in 2023.”

Al Zeyoudi pointed out that the UNCTAD data on FDI inflows and outflows confirms that the UAE continues to make steady and confident progress on the path towards economic diversification and sustainable growth.