The Minister of Economy Delivers a Lecture for Participants of the 8th NDC Course 2020-2021

On Tuesday 12/1/2021, the National Defense College welcomed H.E. Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy to deliver a lecture entitled “The Economic Policy and Strategy of the United Arab Emirates”. H.E. was well received by Major General Staff Pilot Rashad Muhammad Alsaadi, the NDC Commandant, his deputy, and the wing commanders.

H.E. started his lecture by thanking NDC for hospitality and for the pleasure of meeting the participants of the 8th NDC Course 2020-2021 to talk about the importance of the economy to the UAE. 

H.E. the Minister of Economy stated at the beginning of his lecture that UAE over the past fifty years has been able to outclass many major countries despite its young age compared to the history of those countries. He added that with an accelerated and planned pace, UAE has been able to achieve significant growth in various sectors as it sought to focus on diversification as a fundamental pillar to ensure its sustainability. H.E. added that the UAE has benefited from its strategic position to become a global trade hub and the first investment choice in the region and West Asia today.

Regarding the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy in general, H.E. indicated that the year 2020 was a test of the UAE's resilience in addressing the pandemic, as it revealed cracks in the global system, and that the International Monetary Fund expects at least two years for the world to recover from this crisis. However, the UAE was able to overcome the challenge of the pandemic by adapting to the situation by being well- prepared to reorganize itself according to the new economic scenario and launch a package of economic incentives supported by many creative initiatives to achieve a sustainable innovative-and-knowledge-based economic model that is sought always. 

In his conclusion, he talked about the UAE’s economic plan to prepare for the next 50 years, H.E. made clear that the UAE seeks to move towards the new economy to achieve quantum leaps in digital and proactive services for the business community, as it works on four main influential directions, namely, accelerating the 4IR to adapt to the digital sectors and sustainability, as UAE will face global shifts to focus on sustainability and green growth, scarcity of resources. The UAE, in response, will increase strategic investments in food production and security and innovation-based economy that seeks to stimulate more investment in the public and private sectors and attract talents, in addition to increasing spending on research and development, which will enhance the long-term economic growth of UAE.