In the first quarter of 2025, the UAE has continued to solidify its role as a key platform for advancing globalisation, promoting international free trade, and mitigating protectionism and unilateralism worldwide.
Since the beginning of the year, the UAE has signed five Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements – or Cepas – with Malaysia, New Zealand, Kenya, Ukraine and the Central African Republic. This represents a significant expansion in the UAE’s global trade network and “creates new opportunities for the country’s private sector and business community across some of the world’s most dynamic economies”, according to the official news agency, WAM.
This comes at a time of renewed global uncertainty. The resurgence of tariffs and unilateral trade measures by the administration of US President Donald Trump has refuelled debates about the future of the global economic system and the shifting dynamics of international trade, with efforts under way to redefine these dynamics.
The UAE and other Gulf countries’ efforts to maximise their opportunities in a changing global order do not mean an absence of challenges. Gulf economies cannot be separated from global economies. Some estimates indicate that no region in the world will be immune to the repercussions of Washington’s tariffs, potential scenarios of a US economic recession, a weakening (or devaluated) US dollar or a full-blown global trade war that could drive up the costs of manufactured goods worldwide.
In this context, the recent visit of Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi and National Security Adviser, to the US last month was a strategic milestone. This successful visit entailed the presentation of a $1.4 trillion investment framework over the next decade, demonstrating the Emirates’ strategic commitment to global economic stability and eagerness to generate shared benefits for all, and to promote positivity in an international environment marked by rising anxiety, uncertainty and geopolitical tensions.
Since September 2021, the UAE has been leading the Cepa programme with the aim of achieving sustainable economic growth, eliminating unnecessary trade barriers and enhancing market access for goods and services by removing or reducing customs duties.
The UAE’s defence of globalisation – prioritising connectivity, interdependence and free trade over polarisation, protectionism, tariff and custom wars, barrier-building and excessive economic sanctions – represents a strategic gain for the country. But while seeking new opportunities, it is also proactively managing associated risks.
An article by the European Council on Foreign Relations highlights the UAE’s ability to remain a haven for globalisation, stressing that its multipolar approach is bearing fruit. Due to this approach, the article says: “Dubai has seen super-charged growth in recent years – despite the economic shocks of post-pandemic protectionism, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and escalating US-China tensions.”
The Emirates is betting that despite rising tensions, great powers will still require neutral ground for economic engagement, according to the article. By positioning itself as an economic connector between East and West, the UAE aims to maintain balanced ties “to maximise its own gains – and make itself a valuable strategic player to Europeans and the rest of the world”.
From the UAE’s official perspective, accelerating the transition towards innovation-driven, knowledge- and technology-based economic models represents a key solution for adapting to global economic shifts. This includes promoting flexibility and enhancing economic openness to address emerging challenges such as geopolitical tensions, inflationary pressures, rising protectionism and fluctuating oil prices.
The country’s consistent diversification of partnerships and commitment to multilateralism have become geopolitical necessities. These are paramount in view of the international system’s current inability to generate effective tools for achieving global peace and containing conflicts, as well as its failure to facilitate the free trade flow and prevent the monopolisation of global benefits by a few dominant actors. In essence, global security and prosperity require an international order that is just and effective.
The growing prevalence of crises, wars and divisions underscores the urgent need for comprehensive reform.
UAE Minister of State Sheikh Shakhbout bin Nahyan made this point by calling for the modernisation of multilateral mechanisms. “Building a secure and prosperous future requires modernising multilateral mechanisms to ensure they can keep pace with the grave challenges we face and play meaningful roles in resolving conflicts and crises – particularly as the current international system has failed to prevent or hold accountable those responsible for the most serious crimes.”
This, he emphasised, begins with reforming the UN Security Council through a comprehensive process involving all UN member states. Such reform is essential to restoring the Council’s credibility, strengthening its ability to uphold international peace and security, and ensure accountability – even in situations where polarisation and political interests hinder effective action.
While fragmentation poses a significant challenge to globalisation and the free flow of trade, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani Al Zeyoudi underscored that it also offers vital opportunities. He noted that both globalisation and fragmentation will increasingly be shaped by the evolving interests of countries and emerging blocs, ultimately reshaping the global landscape.
“The evolving supply chains offer countries opportunities to diversify and forge new partnerships,” Mr Al Zeyoudi explained. This diversification, in turn, helps countries protect their interests against disruptions caused by major power rivalries, politicised trade policies and investment, tariff-related pressures and economic sanctions – all of which are reshaping global economic dynamics.
Opportunities are also emerging alongside a broader shift towards knowledge- and innovation-driven economies. In this context, countries that effectively harness technologies such as quantum computing and artificial intelligence will be well-positioned for future growth – particularly as trade continues shifting from goods to services, and as the Global South rises as a pivotal player in the evolving global economy.
This perspective was echoed by Abdulnasser Al Shaali, the UAE’s ambassador to India, who said that co-operation among emerging economies can play a crucial role in streamlining global trade. “You have to make sure that any agreements and any mechanisms you have are also evolving” to keep pace with today’s shifting economic landscape, he noted.
In response to the shockwaves of the Trump-era tariffs and their ripple effects across regional and global markets, there is a pressing need for a rational, flexible, dynamic and fair economic approach – one that paves the way for reforming the rules-based global economic system, rather than dismantling it due to its shortcomings and loopholes.
