The UAE’s non-oil trade has reached new heights, with the value of its international commerce outside the oil and gas sector hitting a record AED1.395 trillion ($379.81 billion) in the first half of 2024. This milestone represents an 11.2 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023, underscoring the country’s economic diversification efforts.
Commenting on this achievement, Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE’s minister of State for Foreign Trade, said that the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade continues to set new milestones as a direct result of the country’s conviction and the forward-thinking vision and commitment to global collaboration of its leadership.
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Dr. Al Zeyoudi noted that the growth in the UAE’s non-oil exports has been particularly noteworthy, with a 25 percent increase to reach AED256.4 billion in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. He highlighted that key sectors, including gold, silver, jewelry, oils, perfumes, aluminum, copper wires, and iron products, have led this impressive surge in non-oil exports, demonstrating the country’s enhanced global competitiveness.
Increasing re-export operations
Moreover, Dr. Al Zeyoudi noted that the UAE’s re-export operations had also increased, highlighting the country’s status as a global trade hub and reflecting international confidence in the UAE as a reliable trade partner and facilitator.
Dr. Al Zeyoudi noted that the UAE’s performance defied the global trend of slowing trade growth, which had averaged just 1.5 percent in the first half of the year. He added that this achievement showed the resilience of the UAE economy, which was the result of the country’s steadfast commitment to building strong, productive public-private partnerships and fostering collaborative growth with emerging global economies.
The role of CEPA partnerships
Additionally, Dr. Al Zeyoudi underscored the pivotal role the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) program had played in attaining these unprecedented results. He stated that bilateral trade with CEPA partners India and Türkiye had grown by 15 and 9.8 percent respectively, together accounting for 11.7 percent of the UAE’s total foreign trade.
Dr. Al Zeyoudi expressed that as the UAE continued to expand and finalize more CEPA deals, it anticipated further growth, steering the country toward its ambitious target of AED4 trillion in non-oil foreign trade by 2031.
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