ABU DHABI, 7th December, 2022 (WAM) -- Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, has said that the UAE's non-oil foreign trade grew by 19 percent by the end of the third quarter of 2022 to reach AED1.637 trillion compared to the same period last year.

He also pointed out that the country's total non-oil foreign trade during 2022 will cross AED2 trillion, by a large margin, compared to AED1.9 trillion by the end of 2021.

In his interview with the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Dr. Al Zeyoudi indicated that the directives and vision of the wise leadership for a resilient and sustainable economy were achieved with exceptional figures in the past nine months of 2022. The value of exports at the end of the third quarter amounted to AED275 billion, a growth of nine percent, and re-exports recorded a growth of 22 percent.

He also noted that figures and data have shown that the policies, legislation, economic relations and agreements that were signed have begun to bear fruit, achieving positive results.

He also pointed to the country’s success in providing the best investment environment in the world and launching the unified portal for investment and export development in ten global markets within the “10X10” programme through comprehensive trading companies.

He added, 'In less than a year, we exceeded the target percentages for increasing trade exchange by 10 percent from the countries that were listed as part of the comprehensive economic partnership agreements, as the growth rate in trade exchange during the first nine months of this year with the targeted trading partners has exceeded a rate of 10 percent to reach 37 percent in some countries.'

He referred to India as an example of the positive results of the overall economic partnership agreements. The volume of trade exchange increased by 19 percent, and during the period of entry into force of the agreement from May to the end of September, the growth rate of trade exchange between the UAE and India reached 23 percent, bringing the total trade exchange by the end of the third quarter of the year to AED79 billion.

Dr. Al Zeyoudi stated that with the entry into force of the partnership agreements with Indonesia and Israel, as well as the completion of the current negotiation agreements, the figures would show the achievement of national targets and indicators, pointing to the diversity of the number of markets that the UAE deals with.

“We are harvesting the fruits of Expo 2020 Dubai, as it alerted the world to the significance of the UAE as a global trade centre. After the end of the international event's activities last March, trade and several goods and services started to flow from some countries began for the first time,” Al Zeyoudi said.

He continued, 'We also focus mainly on the services sector to ensure the export of services to all regions of the world,' stressing the UAE's continuation in enhancing its development journey and its pioneering stature on the global trade map through comprehensive strategic partnerships and acknowledging the UAE as the main gateway for the flow of trade and logistical services to the countries globally.

Dr. Al Zeyoudi pointed to the continuation of talks to complete more partnership agreements with other countries, including Türkiye, Georgia, Colombia and Cambodia, which represents a cornerstone for the next stage of economic growth and sustainable development.

He noted that the expansion of foreign trade is one of the most important pivotal objectives within the Projects of the 50, which is part of the framework of enhancing the economic diversification policy and doubling the country's gross domestic product while offering priorities to sectors that focus on innovation, knowledge and advanced technology, and the economy of the future.

wam