Today's Edition
AMEINAH ALZEYOUDI (ABU DHABI)
The UAE's conducive environment for logistics, international trade and digital readiness shone on 2025 Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index as the nation topped the Gulf rankings and came in third place globally.
This index is an international standard for competitiveness in the logistics services sector for emerging markets and is done by evaluating 50 emerging markets around the world based on critical factors for logistics service providers, such as domestic and international logistics opportunities, business fundamentals and digital readiness.
Globally, the UAE ranked third, followed by China and India.
In the Domestic Opportunities sub-index, the UAE moved up one position compared with 2023, which the report attributed to the country's increasingly urbanised population, supporting more intensified logistics activities
It also highlighted the UAE's growth in the domestic parcels market, supported by more e-retail activity, and increased clustering of industrial facilities, benefiting economic, and consequently, logistics output.
In the International Opportunities sub-index, the UAE performed very strongly due to its air and sea freight market growth over the past year and forecasted growth over the next five years, in addition to an improvement in maritime and airport connectivity.
According to the index, the UAE continues its efforts to narrow the gap with the countries that top the rankings, reflecting the success of its investment strategy.
The Agility Index report also highlights the UAE's efforts in the areas of sustainability and renewable energy, as the country has invested heavily in clean energy projects.
The UAE seeks to increase its share of renewable energy to 32% by 2030, which is in line with its commitment to reducing carbon emissions and limiting the effects of climate change.
The 2025 Index lauds the UAE for expanding the scope of public-private partnerships, acting with urgency to meet the climate challenge, clustering logistics and industrial activities, improving customs performance and air/ocean connectivity, reducing CO2 emissions, and supporting startups and digital skills development.
The report noted that the UAE has transformed itself into a global hub for trade, tourism, finance and tech, with non-oil sectors now contributing 80% of its GDP.
The 2025 Index features an in-depth analysis of UAE and its Arabian Gulf neighbours. Individually and as a group, the six Gulf countries are positioning themselves as global trade hubs, investing heavily in infrastructure, AI, energy transition, and workforce development. Despite increasing risk to global supply chains, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries have become "beacons of stability" and resilience, the report concludes.
The six Gulf countries all are among the top 11 for business conditions: UAE again tops the rankings for best business climate; Saudi Arabia is 3rd; Qatar 5th. The countries most digitally ready are China, UAE, Malaysia, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
In international logistics opportunities, China, India, Mexico, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia rank highest. In domestic logistics, the leaders are China, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and UAE.
