Sheikh Hamdan lauds ‘remarkable performance’ after economy shows growth on same period in both 2020 and 2019
Dubai’s Crown Prince on Saturday hailed the performance of the emirate’s economy after new figures revealed double-digit growth in the first quarter of 2021 compared to a year ago.
Dubai’s economy proved its ability to recover quickly from the global repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic by registering trade worth AED354.4 billion ($96.5 billion) in Q1, up 10 percent from AED323 billion in the corresponding period in 2020.
The figure was also a rise of 5 percent compared to Q1 2019 as the economy was able to adapt to drastic changes in the international trade environment.
Exports grew 25 percent to AED50.5 billion, representing a volume of 5 million tonnes, while imports accounted for AED204.8 billion, growing 9 percent. The value of re-exports reached AED99 billion, growing 5.5 percent.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (pictured below), Dubai Crown Prince and chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai said: “This remarkable performance reflects our external trade sector’s impressive resilience and its ability to rebound and grow in the face of major international crises.
“Inspired by the vision and directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, we have always turned challenges into opportunities. We have been able to achieve this by virtue of our good governance, advanced infrastructure, strategic location, our status as a regional and global hub for trade, and the generous stimulus packages that the government has launched in support of trade and businesses.”
He added: “This remarkable growth will get us closer to the ambitious target of Dubai’s five-year strategy to raise the value of external trade to AED2 trillion and consolidate its position as a bridge connecting regional and international markets by constantly enhancing its infrastructure and logistics services.”
He also said hosting Expo 2020, the six-month long mega event which opens in October, will make a “significant contribution” to the recovery of the global economy.
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Sultan bin Sulayem, DP World Group chairman and CEO and chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, said: “Dubai recovered quickly from the repercussions of the current global crisis and has resiliently grown its trade, spurred by its strong investments and advanced technological capabilities, which enabled it to continue its global trading activities during what has been a testing time.
“The impressive success of the vaccination campaign in the UAE has created high levels of global confidence in the country and helped Dubai add to its profile as the city with the world’s most favourable business environment.”
Direct trade in Q1 totalled AED217 billion growing 15 percent compared to Q1 2020, while trade through free zones reached AED135 billion, up 2 percent and customs warehouse trade weighed in at AED2.3 billion, growing 23 percent.
China maintained its position as Dubai’s largest trading partner in Q1 with AED44 billion worth of trade, up by 30 percent, followed by India (AED35 billion), the US (AED15.4 billion).
Saudi Arabia continued to be Dubai’s largest Gulf and Arab trade partner and its fourth largest global trade partner with AED14.7 billion worth of trade, growing 20 percent.
The figures also showed that gold topped the list of commodities in Dubai’s Q1 external trade at AED63 billion, followed by telecoms at AED50 billion.
Diamonds registered a record growth of 61 percent to be ranked third with AED29 billion, followed by jewellery with AED17 billion, and vehicles, which grew 9 percent to reach AED14billion.
https://www.arabianbusiness.com/politics-economics/464639-dubai-crown-prince-hails-economic-rebound-after-965bn-q1-trade-figures
