UAE plans to enter 25 new markets to foster foreign trade; Sheikh Mohammed

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai has stated that the Emirates will enter 25 new international markets in order to improve the foreign trade.

The move comes as the UAE aims to increase national exports by 50 percent in the next few years.

“In a cabinet meeting I chaired at Abu Dhabi’s Qasr Al Watan, we have adopted the National Agenda for Non-oil Export Development to access 25 new global markets and advance our foreign trade,” Sheikh Mohammed tweeted.

“Our non-oil trade exceeds $408 billion (Dhs1.5 trillion) annually with a network that reaches 400 cities. Our non-oil sectors contribute over 70 percent of our national economy and we aim to increase the UAE’s national exports by 50 percent over the coming years. In the UAE, we work as one team to boost our national economy and reinforce the UAE’s leading position as a global business hub. We also approved the National Manual for Measurement of Research and Development Expenditures in the government sector. The UAE spends 1.3 percent of its GDP on Research and Development (R&D), which is at the core of the knowledge-based economy we aim to boost. The cabinet also approved other legislative amendments in healthcare, education, economy, emergency response, and crisis management, with aims to provide the best quality of life-based on a stable and diversified economy.”

Furthermore, the Cabinet has approved a decision regarding nurseries and creches in government buildings. This is to ensure that on-site nurseries support women in the workplace. The Ministry of Education and local educational authorities will license and monitor these nurseries.

“The goal is a quality of life that is the best in the world based on an economy that is the most diversified and established,” Sheikh Mohammed added.

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