The UAE has announced a new law on public-private partnership (PPP) law in order to increase the role of the private sector in the development of the economy.

This came as His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, chaired a Cabinet meeting on Sunday.

“Our goal is to create opportunities and encourage the private sector to engage in developmental, economic and social projects and to develop partnerships that lead to improving the quality of public services,” Sheikh Mohammed tweeted at the end of the meeting.

The PPP law aims to organise partnerships between both sectors, encouraging the private sector to participate in the development and strategic projects, increasing investment in projects of economic and social values, and enhancing the competitiveness of projects in the local, regional and global markets.

In a series of tweets, Sheikh Mohammed highlighted how the UAE has overcome the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. He said the country’s economic growth has been higher than it was prior to the pandemic.

Global trade has not yet regained its strength, but the UAE’s economy has, Sheikh Mohammed said.

The UAE’s foreign trade also exceeded Dh1 trillion in the first half of 2022, compared to Dh840 billion during the pre-pandemic level.

Sheikh Mohammed added: “The number of global indices topped by the UAE rose from 121 to 156 indicators. We ranked among the top 10 in 432 global indicators, compared to 314 pre-pandemic. We are the first in the world in terms of security and safety, infrastructure, the flexibility of regulations, and more.”

Tourism sector revenues cross Dh19 billion

The Cabinet reviewed the achievements of the tourism sector in the first half of the year 2022 which showed an increase in tourism’s contribution to the national economy by 12 per cent. The number of hotel guests establishments increased by 42 per cent with a total of 12 million guests, compared to 6.2 per cent before the Covid-19 pandemic. The total revenues of the sector amounted to Dh19 billion, during the first half of 2022.

“We expect a strong tourism performance in this winter season,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

The Cabinet also reviewed the UAE’s significant growth in economic and trade indicators, as the Constant Price GDP growth rate for the first quarter of 2022 reached 8.4 per cent, with a total of Dh399 billion, compared to Dh368 billion in the same period of 2021.

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