Sheikh Mohammed praises Emirati innovation after record economic year

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, chaired the first Cabinet meeting of the year at Abu Dhabi's Qasr Al Watan on Thursday.

The Cabinet reviewed the progress made in 2024, with Sheikh Mohammed describing it as the “best economic and developmental year for the UAE since its establishment”.

Sheikh Mohammed said the country “strengthened its global presence” and signed more than 140 international agreements in the fields of economy, sustainability, clean energy, technology, artificial intelligence, security, defence and international humanitarian work.

He also praised Emirati innovation, noting that UAE nationals launched 25,000 small and medium-sized companies while the number of citizens in the private sector “increased by 350 per cent, reaching 131,000 citizens for the first time”.

Modernisation

In 2024, the government completed a three-year project to update all legislation issued since the formation of the country, Sheikh Mohammed said.

“The number of new companies in 2024 jumped to 200,000, and our foreign trade exceeded Dh2.8 trillion for the first time,” he wrote on X. “Total foreign direct investment is expected to reach Dh130 billion for the first time, and the value of our industrial exports is also Dh190 billion for the first time.”

The government also launched more than 750 national projects and initiatives to “support the development process and attract the best competencies, talents and investments” while the Cabinet issued 1,300 decisions to create the “best regulatory environment that supports the country’s rapid growth over the next two decades”.

Looking to the future

Sheikh Mohammed also noted that the nation’s tourism industry is booming, with 150 million passengers travelling through UAE airports in 2024, and tourist facilities receiving more than 30 million guests.

Concluding the meeting, the Cabinet pledged to “continue the approach of development, openness, and continuous modernisation in order to ensure the best environment for business, and the best life for people”.

“What is coming to us in 2025 will be more beautiful, greater and better,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

Landmark year

In 2024, the Cabinet issued more than 1,300 resolutions over 22 meetings, with the federal government allocating around Dh70 billion to implement almost 750 national projects and initiatives.

National identity was prioritised, including the approval of a federal cultural heritage law and the announcement of a National Policy for the Preservation of Modern Architectural Heritage. Through the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme, more than 5,600 houses, with a total value of Dh4 billion, were approved for Emirati families.

The UAE joined the international Lunar Gateway space station project, alongside the US, Japan, Canada and the European Union. It also became the first Arab nation with a permanent polar research base.

The country enacting 87 policies, initiatives and regulations devoted to sustainability, including the Plant the Emirates national programme and a federal law on the reduction of climate change effects.

More than 2,500 officials from federal, local and private sector organisations, across 215 specialised national teams, issued and updated over 47 federal laws and more than 130 regulatory resolutions.

Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements were also agreed with 12 nations in 2024, meaning the UAE has now reached 24 in total, with 15 signed and 9 to be announced soon.

Cause for optimism

Local economic development departments and free zones issued more than 200,000 economic licences in 2024. The UAE's unified economic register now lists nearly 1.1 million registered businesses. The industrial sector contributed more than an estimated Dh210 billion to the gross domestic product, with exports exceeding Dh190 billion.

The UAE's GDP is projected to exceed Dh1.7 trillion for the first time in 2025, with foreign trade surpassing Dh2.8 trillion. Non-oil exports are expected to exceed Dh540 billion, imports more than Dh1.6 trillion, and re-exports over Dh700 billion.

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