UAE economy to grow at a faster pace next year: IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday projected that the UAE economy will expand at a faster pace next year at 3.9 percent as compared to 3.5 percent this year.
The Fund revised upward last year’s growth from 5.1 percent in October 2022’s World Economic Outlook to 7.4 percent in its latest WEO report released on Tuesday.
However, it downgraded the 2023 forecast by 0.7 percent from 4.2 percent in October to 3.5 percent on Tuesday.
Doubling re-exports to ‘significantly’ boost UAE GDP
The UAE’s plan to double its re-exports is expected to significantly boost the industry’s contribution to the country’s gross domestic product, the Minister of State for Foreign Trade has said.
Achieving this would mean that every dollar of merchandise the Emirates re-exports would result in 12 cents being added to the national GDP, which would be 3.5 times its current impact, Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi said in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday.
This would enhance the national logistics infrastructure, promote activity within free zones, boost the inflows of foreign direct investment, strengthen global supply chains and support the creation of new jobs, he said.
G20 empower alliance discusses experience of UAE women in science sector
The UAE Gender Balance Council participated in the meetings of the G20 EMPOWER Alliance which were held in the state of Kerala, India, on April 5-6, according to a report by Emirates News Agency (WAM)
The meetings of the EMPOWER Alliance held under the chairmanship of India, which this year holds the presidency of the G20 EMPOWER Alliance, included discussion sessions over two days under the slogan “Empowering Women: A Win for Both Sides for Equity and the Economy,” during which many issues were discussed, including the challenges facing women in entrepreneurship.
Ways to advance women’s entrepreneurship were also discussed, including through guidance, capacity building, and enhancing their access to markets and financing, and the role of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and innovation disciplines in expanding the scope of women’s work in these sectors, empowering women’s leadership at all levels, and enhancing their quality of life.
Oman to launch 48 initiatives in 2023
The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP) announced on Monday that it will launch 48 initiatives in the commercial and industrial sectors this year.
The announcement was made during its annual media meeting wherein the achievements of the past year and plans for the current year were reviewed.
The ministry stated that the volume of trade exchange between Oman and the world amounted to more than RO40bn until December 2022, registering an increase of 41 percent, while the total exports were over RO25bn.
Qatar and Bahrain say they will resume diplomatic ties
Qatar and Bahrain will resume their diplomatic ties, both Bahrain news agency (BNA) and the Qatari foreign ministry said on Wednesday. The move comes over two years after an Arab boycott of Qatar was lifted. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt in January 2021 ended a 3-1/2-year embargo of Qatar but all but Bahrain restored travel and trade links in 2021. On Wednesday, the Bahraini-Qatari Follow-up Committee held its second meeting at the headquarters of the GCC General Secretariat in the Saudi capital where the decision was made, the two countries said in separate statements.
Kuwait needs serious work
While the countries neighboring Kuwait have been successful in the field of tourism and entertainment, and whose cities continue to attracts tourists from all over the world and competes with others on the global tourism scene, Kuwait has missed the train and is largely absent from competition in this field, reports Al-Qabas daily. Dubai’s recent announcement of its success in attracting 3 million tourists during January and February 2023 alone is an example of this success, especially if we know that Kuwait ranked tenth in the number of tourists visiting Dubai, with a share of 71,000 tourists.
Saudi Arabia’s nod to SCO
As the Kingdom steadily treads its path in line with Vision 2030, it won’t stop startling those less vigilant watchers who trumpet stereotypes instead of more nuanced analyses.
The Cabinet’s approval of Saudi Arabia’s partnership with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization did not happen out of the blue. A meticulous process coupled with multiple bilateral and multilateral contacts has been afoot for the past four years.
Riyadh applied for SCO dialogue partner status in 2019, which was formally approved in September 2021 and officially granted exactly a year later. Turkiye, Egypt and Qatar are other current dialogue partners while Iran is set to be granted full member status in April. The process of becoming a full member involves a few steps besides the consensus of all existing members. There appears to be no hurdles to the Kingdom’s inclusion by the member-states and secretariat.
Dubai’s non-oil economy hits five-month high
Business activity in Dubai’s non-oil private sector economy hit a five-month high as output expanded on stronger increases in both jobs and inventories, with growth rates reaching multiyear records. The emirate’s seasonally adjusted S&P Global purchasing managers’ index reading in March jumped to 55.5, from 54.1 in February, remaining well above the neutral 50 mark separating expansion from contraction. Companies reported greater efforts to build supply-side strength in light of a further rapid expansion in activity levels,” said David Owen, a senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. The subsequent increases in staffing levels and inventories of materials and components were the sharpest seen in around five years, allowing firms to increase their output to the greatest extent for six months.