By NNN-WAM,
Istanbul : UAE Economy Minister Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri said the UAE has one the Regions’ most competitive economies in terms of attracting foreign investments.
The UAE ranks 31st globally in Davos Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) for 2008-2009, issued by Davos World Economic Forum and first in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and first on the Arab World Competitiveness Index. It also ranks 23rd globally on the Davos Business Competitiveness Index (BCI) for 2008.
Al Mansouri made his remarks at the 24th meeting of the OIC Standing Committee for Economic ‘&’ Commercial Cooperation. He led the UAE delegation to the said meeting which was concluded in Istanbul on Friday.
“The UAE also ranked 3rd on A.T. Kearney FDI Confidence Index for 2007”, he remarked.
All these ranks, added Al Mansouri, are true demonstration of the robust current and future FDI flow into the UAE, he said adding that the country’s GDP rose to $198 billion in 2007 posting growth rate of 16.7% where the share of non-oil sectors reached 16.5% ($122 billion) in 2007. The surplus reached $48 billion.
The UAE’s total exports reached $180 billion in 2007 where crude oil exports accounted for only 39.4%.
He further said FDI in the UAE economy grew by 11% in 2006 to reach $18.7 billion compared with $16.6 billion in 2005, according to Ministry’s figures, thanks to the country’s investment and economic open and attractive policies and the geographical and strategic location.
Al Mansouri stressed the need for promoting stronger economic partnerships among OIC’s member countries to further increase trade and combat poverty and disease as well as to strengthen the economic development in the less developed countries, in Africa in particualr.
He also stressed the need for making joint Islamic projects as a strategic goal and an effective step towards economic integration among OIC member countries.
He called all investors to tap opportunities in all the OIC member countries to “provide a social and political safety valve for OIC countries and the whole Islamic World He further called for a clear realistic and strategic vision for Islamic cooperation and foreign investments.