Ruler Of Dubai Announces $8.7 Trillion Economic Plan

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of UAE, and Ruler of Dubai has announced a mega economic project worth AED 32 trillion for the next ten years. This plan is mainly aimed at improving foreign trade and investment so that Dubai becomes a global business and financial hub by 2033.

The new economic plan titled ‘Dubai Economic Agenda D33’ consists of hundred transformative projects aiming at an economic target of AED 32 trillion in the next ten years.

Dubai Economic Agenda D33

It also aims at doubling foreign trade reaching AED 25.6 trillion and entering into trade partnerships with more than four hundred cities around the world. Foreign direct investments are also estimated to increase with a value exceeding AED 650 billion by 2033.

Some of the main objectives of the D33 economic plan will include government expenditures, Digital transformation, Investments in the private sector, Foreign Direct investments, Foreign trade, increasing the value of domestic goods and services, etc.     

The new announcement by the UAE administration comes in stark contrast to the global economy being at a crucial juncture struggling its way through inflation and the risk of depression.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had observed that one-third of the world economy would go into recession by 2023 and this would also be reflective of the snail-paced economic growth of countries like China, the United States, and the European Union.

But the IMF officials had a totally different take on the UAE economy as they projected a six percent GDP growth in 2022. In the first nine months of last year, the GDP of Dubai stood at AED 307.5 billion and steady growth of 4.6 percent since 2021.                

The main strategy of Dubai was to consistently boost itself as an economy that opens up to the global business hub with a low-tax and western friendly attitude. It also developed its tourism sector which contributed heavily to the non-oil economy of the city in many ways.

Dubai has been ranked among the top three cities of the world for work and residence with its magnificent urban space and high quality of life. Even though Dubai has less oil and gas wealth compared to its neighbors like Abu Dhabi, Dubai has made it to the top charts through sheer persistence and smart economic strategies.

The Dubai economy started to have a dream run after the Covid-19 pandemic when techies, social media influencers, and bankers flew into the city seeking new horizons away from their countries as Dubai offered better career opportunities with benefits like low taxes and a better standard of living.

Saudi Arabia, the neighboring nation, had also started investing more in the tourism sector to establish itself as a prominent tourist destination for the world. This also created healthy competition between Dubai and Saudi Arabia to capitalize on the Post-Covid wave of tourism business.

The FIFA World cup organized in Qatar was also a major factor in the influx of visitors to Dubai and finally ending the year with high-voltage Christmas and new year’s eve celebrations in different parts of the city including Burj Khalifa.

Sheikh Mohammed called out to more than 300,000 investors in Dubai to join the efforts of the administration to make Dubai one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

2033 is the projected year for Dubai when it hopes to become the world’s most prominent economic hub and it will be when Dubai would finally complete its D33 economic journey. The Emirate city turns two hundred years by 2033 and thus the project marks a very important point in the history of the city. 

Some of the key points of the D33 economic package are: 

1. Plans to launch a green and sustainable manufacturing sector in Dubai. 
2. Opening up Dubai’s Future Economic Corridors 2033 with nations of Latin America, South East Asia, and Africa. 
3. The appointment of 65,000 young Emiratis into the employment sector. 
4. The launch of the prestigious project called Sandbox Dubai will lead to the testing and commercialization of innovative technologies. 
5. To make Dubai a global education hub for higher studies by creating projects to attract world-ranking universities. 
6. Initiative to create a unified license as part of a unique commercial identity that will bind together all the companies in different parts of Dubai. 
7. The launch of the Dubai Traders Project to strengthen the new and upcoming traders in key economic sectors. 
8. Identifying and guiding around four hundred small to medium-scale companies to expand their potential enabling them to grow into a global presence.

According to financial experts, the new economic plan of Dubai definitely feels ambitious but keeping in mind its history, Dubai is very much capable of this feat.

Even as the rest of the world is facing a financial and economic crisis, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are setting themselves up for unbridled economic growth in the coming years.