UAE witnesses 10 years of rapid and sustainable economic growth

Led by financial, aviation, hospitality, tourism and trade sectors, Dubai’s economy has grown exponentially over the last 10 years, notching up growth of more than 100 per cent in key sectors.

Thanks to the vision and forward-looking policies of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the emirate’s economy has grown leaps and bounds over last decade, becoming a regional and global hub for different sectors.

The emirate and indeed the entire country has successfully overcome the headwinds and hurdles of the 2008-09 global financial slowdown.

January 4 is marked as Accession Day of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum as Ruler of Dubai. The first decade review of the Accession of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed showed that the emirate’s economy achieved several major milestones.

Dubai's GDP (gross domestic product) has been growing steadily over the years and it is expected to have notched up a stellar 4 per cent in 2015 also. This strong growth comes at a time when the global economy is slowing down and other major economies are also facing headwinds.

This growth rate is higher than that of many regional economies thanks to the diversification of the emirate’s economy, reduced dependence on petrodollars and the strong trust of the foreign investors in the emirate’s policies.

The sustained growth was also reflected in the latest Dubai budget which showed a surplus at a time when many other economies around the region are witnessing deficit due to lower fuel prices.

However, the emirate’s diversification strategy is paying rich dividends now with steady government revenues with the vision and investor-friendly policies of the Dubai Government and its entities under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who has been the prime example of leadership over the last ten years.

Last week, His Highness approved Emirate of Dubai budget for 2016 which was 12 per cent more than previous year, providing more than 3,000 job opportunities. The budget will stimulate economic growth and has total expenditure of Dh46.1 billion, with an operating surplus of Dh3.4 billion.

For the emirate, trade sector has been its backbone since its inception and has grown substantially over the last 10 years. From Dh480 billion total trade in 2005, the non-oil trade alone has reached Dh966 billion during the first nine months of 2015, registering staggering growth of more than 100 per cent in the last decade.

“Dubai has been exemplary in surmounting the impact of the trade and economic hardships the world is currently facing, thanks to the wisdom of Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and His Highness’s vision of diversifying the economic structure of Dubai to withstand and avoid being affected by sharp fluctuations witnessed across many key economic sectors globally,” Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC), and Chairman of DP World, said in a recent statement.

In addition, His Highness’s vision to make the emirate as an aviation hub for being at the crossroad of the East and West has helped reap rich rewards.

Led by Emirates, flydubai and Dubai Airports, the emirate’s aviation sector has scaled new heights over the last 10 years and, looking forward, sky is not the limit. With the opening of the Dubai South – earlier known as Dubai World Central – the title of the global aviation hub is bound to be bestowed upon Dubai in the not-too-distant future.

In the first ten months of 2015, passenger traffic at Dubai International rose 11.2 per cent to nearly 65 million as compared to 58.411 million recorded during the same period last year. The figures are even more amazing when compared to a decade ago when 28.78 million passengers passed through the Dubai International – notching up a staggering growth rate of 126 per cent.

Interestingly, the emirate’s airports are now predicted to reach 200 million passengers by 2030 with the addition of Dubai South making the dream into a reality in the near future.
 

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