During the 2025 annual meetings of the UAE government, His Excellency Mohammad bin Abdullah Al\u202fGergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, declared that the UAE today stands as a major global economic hub and a nexus of interest for world\u2011leaders and decision\u2011makers. He emphasised that we are living in a transitional era characterised by economic doubt, geopolitical polarisation between East and West, and shifts in trade, technology and finance. Yet, the UAE remains anchored by five enduring principles that have guided its agenda, decisions and policies since its foundation:<\/p>\n
1. Economic openness.<\/strong><\/p>\n The UAE adopted economic openness from its very inception\u2014aimed at attracting talent, drawing investment, facilitating trade, and forging economic\u2011commercial partnerships with countries around the world. This mindset of innovation is a central pillar in our economic diversification. Under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh\u202fMohammed\u202fbin\u202fZayed Al\u202fNahyan, President of the UAE, the aim was stated at the 2015 World Government Summit: \u201cwe want to celebrate the export of the last barrel of oil after 50 years\u201d. Today, non\u2011oil activities contribute 77.5\u202f% of the UAE\u2019s GDP in the first half of 2025, on track to reach 80\u202f% by 2031 (and potentially earlier). 2. Balanced international relations.<\/strong><\/p>\n The UAE, under the leadership of President His Highness Sheikh\u202fMohammed\u202fbin\u202fZayed Al\u202fNahyan, pursues international relations rooted in mutual benefit and shared economic development. In the past year alone, the UAE signed economic agreements and comprehensive partnerships with 32 countries, and non\u2011oil foreign trade grew by 24\u202f% in the first half of last year. The leadership continues to emphasise building stable, balanced and prosperous relations\u2014not aligning solely with East or West, but forging a future of stability, prosperity, development and peace.<\/p>\n 3. Governmental agility.<\/strong><\/p>\n Flexibility has become part of the UAE government\u2019s identity: decisions are made swiftly, responsively, and in line with evolving economic and technological realities. During the COVID\u201119 crisis, the government took bold steps to support the economy. Over the last three years, 80\u202f% of legislation has been updated, leading to a major leap in development. For example, the number of companies in the UAE increased by 235\u202f% over five years\u2014from 400,000 in early 2020 to over 1.3\u202fmillion by the first half of 2025. Residency\u2011programmes and investment\u2011friendly reforms (such as the Golden Visa) helped the UAE become the top destination globally for high net\u2011worth individuals. \u201cWe respond with speed and awareness to challenges,\u201d he said. \u201cDelayed decisions in times of transformation are a form of regression.\u201d<\/p>\n 4. Technology as a fundamental driver.<\/strong><\/p>\n The UAE regards technology not merely as a tool but as a foundational pillar for growth: boosting the economy, advancing education, and improving quality of life. Artificial Intelligence has been integrated into the national curriculum from grade one through twelve. In May, the launch of the \u201cStarGate\u201d project affirmed the UAE\u2019s readiness for the future. Leadership\u2019s directive: \u201cWe don\u2019t just keep pace with the technological revolution\u2014we lead it. We don\u2019t wait for the future, we help shape it.\u201d<\/p>\n 5. The human being at the core of development.<\/strong><\/p>\n Above all else, the UAE places the human being at the heart and aim of its development. 91\u202f% of UAE citizens own homes\u2014among the highest rates globally. On health, the UAE ranks among the world\u2019s top countries for life expectancy thanks to high\u2011quality care and coverage. In education, the nation leads in primary and universal enrolment and is ranked ninth globally in human capital by international reports. The national vision \u201cWe the UAE\u202f2031\u201d launched three years ago has already achieved 67\u202f% of its goals in community, economy, international cooperation and governmental system. For every policy, the goal is the individual; every plan is centred on their stability and prosperity; and the ultimate purpose is to build the best possible life for the people of the UAE.<\/p>\n In closing, His Excellency Mohammad\u202fbin\u202fAbdullah\u202fAl\u202fGergawi reaffirmed that the UAE remains committed to these five constants: openness to the world and its peoples; balanced diplomacy; agile governance; leveraging innovation and technology; and placing people at the heart of progress. \u201cOur principles are clear. Our vision is steadfast. Our leadership knows no impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" During the 2025 annual meetings of the UAE government, His Excellency Mohammad bin Abdullah Al\u202fGergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, declared that the UAE today stands as a major global economic hub and a nexus of interest for world\u2011leaders and decision\u2011makers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13872,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[13],"class_list":["post-13861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english-stories","tag-mohammad-al-gergawi"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uaehumanjourney.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uaehumanjourney.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uaehumanjourney.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uaehumanjourney.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uaehumanjourney.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13861"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uaehumanjourney.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13873,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uaehumanjourney.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13861\/revisions\/13873"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uaehumanjourney.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uaehumanjourney.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uaehumanjourney.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uaehumanjourney.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Over the last decade, non\u2011oil foreign trade in goods and services reached approximately AED\u202f27\u202ftrillion, with expectations to more than double to over AED\u202f68\u202ftrillion by 2035. The UAE has advanced to 5th in the world in global competitiveness, and foreign direct investment rose 48\u202f% in 2024 to AED\u202f167\u202fbillion, with cumulative growth of 226\u202f% over the past five years. As His Excellency stated: \u201cEconomic openness is not a temporary option\u2014it is a covenant for the next fifty years. Our message is clear: the UAE will remain the gateway to opportunity, the capital of trust and the centre of the future.\u201d<\/p>\n