His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, has reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to achieving extraordinary successes in its non-oil foreign trade under the visionary leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Reflecting on the UAE’s ambitious economic vision, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid stated, “A few years ago, we set an ambitious national economic target of reaching AED 4 trillion in foreign trade by 2031—a goal that many considered highly challenging. However, today, the results for the first half of 2024 reveal that our exports in just six months have matched the levels we previously achieved over an entire year before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. Our foreign trade is approaching AED 1.4 trillion for these six months, with a remarkable 25 percent growth in non-oil exports. We are on track to achieve AED 3 trillion in non-oil foreign trade by the end of this year.”
Sheikh Mohammed further emphasized the UAE’s growing economic ties with key international partners, noting, “Our trade relations have significantly strengthened, with a 10 percent increase in trade with India, 15 percent with Türkiye, and a remarkable 41 percent growth with Iraq, which has become the leading destination for UAE exports, followed by India, Türkiye, and others.”
He also highlighted the UAE’s impressive trade growth on the global stage, stating, “While the global growth rate for foreign trade stands at approximately 1.5 percent, the UAE’s foreign trade has expanded by an impressive 11.2 percent annually as we continue to progress toward our ambitious goals.”
In concluding, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid acknowledged the unwavering support of President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, whose leadership has fostered exceptional international relations. “Through the relentless efforts of thousands of teams across both the public and private sectors, we are witnessing the rise of our nation, the prosperity of our region, and the promise of an even brighter future.”
The first half of 2024 saw a 28.7 percent increase in the UAE’s non-oil exports to its top 10 trade partners, while trade with other nations grew by 12.6 percent. Key export categories, including gold, jewellery, cigarettes, oils, aluminium, copper wires, printed materials, silver, iron industries, and perfumes, collectively surged by 36.8 percent compared to the same period in 2023, while other goods grew by 1 percent.
Re-exports reached AED 345.1 billion in the first half of 2024, marking a 2.7 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023 and an 11.2 percent rise compared to 2022. Re-exports with key partners, particularly Saudi Arabia, Iraq, India, the United States, Kuwait, and Qatar, saw robust growth. Kazakhstan notably joined the ranks of leading re-export partners, nearly doubling its figures due to the surge in re-exports of telephone devices. Overall, re-exports with the top ten trading partners grew by 7.6 percent, with telephones and diamonds topping the list, followed by significant growth in re-exports of aircraft parts, cars, and goods transport vehicles.
The UAE’s non-oil imports also approached AED 800 billion in the first half of 2024, reflecting an 11.3 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023 and a substantial 34.6 percent rise compared to 2022. A significant portion of these imports are destined for re-export. Imports from the top ten markets grew by 7.2 percent, representing over 48.7 percent of total imports, while imports from other countries, accounting for 51.3 percent of UAE imports, surged by 15.4 percent compared to the first half of 2023.
