Today's Edition
MAYS IBRAHIM (ABU DHABI)
The UAE's historic Dh3 trillion foreign trade milestone was driven by its visionary leadership, strong regulatory frameworks, and Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPAs), setting the stage for sustained economic growth, according to experts.
The UAE's non-oil trade has shown remarkable resilience over the years, navigating global challenges while setting significant milestones.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected global trade, leading to a decline in the UAE's non-oil foreign trade, which dropped to Dh1.496 trillion in 2020, marking a 12% decrease from the previous year.
In 2021, the UAE's non-oil foreign trade volumes increased by 28%, reaching Dh1.911 trillion. In 2022, they surpassed Dh2 trillion for the first time, and in 2023, the UAE's non-oil foreign trade exceeded Dh3.5 trillion.
In statements to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade noted that the Dh2.997 trillion milestone achieved in 2024 means that the UAE has fulfilled 75% of the Dh4 trillion target set in the "We the UAE 2031" national vision with seven full years remaining.
"The visionary leadership of the UAE has achieved its strategic economic and developmental goals at a faster and more efficient rate than planned and must be admired for its wise strategy and policies" in respect of non-oil trade.
"This marks the UAE's entry into a very niche but select league of nations with similar achievements," Ashish Mehta, founder and managing partner of legal services firm Ashish Mehta and Associates, told Aletihad.
Ehtesham Shahid, an editor and researcher based in the UAE, explained how the Dh3 trillion foreign trade milestone will reflect positively on businesses across the UAE.
"At one level, milestones such as these set the bar higher for an already burgeoning economy. The impact is even more profound if it happens to be a quantum leap, as these numbers represent," he told Aletihad.
"High foreign trade milestones typically unlock growth opportunities as increased trade enables businesses to tap into more extensive and diverse consumer markets, boosting sales and revenue streams. The UAE's Dh3 trillion foreign trade milestone is expected to impact all these areas, including market access and regulatory environment," Shahid added.
Mehta also noted that diverse business sectors in the UAE are now poised to make inroads to newer markets, while maintaining steady progress in trade with the country's long term trading partners.
"The milestone shall definitely encourage businesses to strive for further growth, which in turn shall help to create more jobs in the market thereby bringing about comprehensive financial prosperity in the country," he said.
This millstone also has the potential to increase the competitiveness and visibility of the UAE’s non-oil products and brands in the global arena, according to Mehta.
Both experts noted that the diverse lineup of Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPAs) signed by the UAE in recent years were integral to advancing its foreign trade agenda.
“They have fostered stronger bilateral trade relations, reduced trade barriers, and opened new markets for businesses. They have also ensured that businesses operating in the UAE benefit from lower or zero tariffs on goods, making exports more competitive and reducing the cost of imported raw materials,” Shahid said.
The UAE’s CEPA strategy is set to play a crucial role in achieving its ambitious goal of increasing non-oil trade to $1 trillion by 2031, in addition to doubling the size of its economy to over $800 billion by 2030.
Since 2022, the UAE has inked CEPAs with 24 countries across five continents, expanding its reach to 2.5 billion people.
As of June 2024, a total of six CEPAs with the UAE are in force, according to the UAE Ministry of Economy’s official website.
These agreements, which include India, Israel, Indonesia, Türkiye, Cambodia, and Georgia, cover a wide range of sectors, such as services, digital trade, and intellectual property protections, facilitating smoother trade and greater market access.
In January 2025, the UAE signed three CEPAs with Malaysia, New Zealand and Kenya.
The agreement with Malaysia is focused on manufacturing, the Halal economy, and renewable energy, building on a $4 billion non-oil trade between the countries.
The UAE-New Zealand CEBA is aimed at boosting food security, advanced technologies, and sustainable development, with expectations to drive bilateral trade to $5 billion by 2032.
The deal with Kenya is set to unlock opportunities in agriculture, ICT, and logistics. Trade ties between the two countries already reached $3.1 billion in 2024, a 29.1% increase from the previous year.
Mehta also pointed out that the UAE’s already robust legal and regulatory frameworks played a crucial role in achieving this milestone.
“UAE is one of the few countries in the world to offer both civil law and common law court systems and has been proactive in bringing about laws addressing various modern day trading concerns like personal data protection, virtual currency and even artificial intelligence,” he said.
“The Dh3 trillion foreign trade milestone shows that the UAE’s trading partners, both old and new, have immense faith and confidence in the country’s regulatory environment and that there is little left to desire.”
