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3/6/24, 9:46 AM Red Sea crisis highlights need for further trade routes, UAE minister says
“The challenge of the Red Sea is a challenge for both the UAE and globally,” Mr bin Touq told The
National.

“We need to look at new trade routes, new ways of moving items, [ensuring availability of] supply,
making sure there's enough supply to the market in the UAE, the region and the world,” he said on
the sidelines of the Investopia conference in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

He said that it would take a bit longer to go back to the normal supply and demand balance.

“There would be investments coming in to make sure there are factories closer to new markets,
redesigning supply routes and supply trade globally. That will actually boost the economy forward,”
Mr bin Touq said.

Houthi rebels in Yemen began attacking commercial vessels to
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UAE economy expected to grow by express solidarity with the Palestinians in the Israel-Gaza war. The
5% this year, Minister of Economy Iran-backed group show no signs of retreating despite the US and
says western allies attempting to deter the group with air strikes.
Morgan Stanley expects deal flow This has severely disrupted trade routes, resulting in longer transit
to continue as Mena economies times and affected the bottom line of shipping companies, which have,
maintain momentum in response, raised their rates to cope with losses.
Suez Canal shipping volumes drop
55% in a week as Red Sea crisis “We need to look at what these circumstances [are and the] new
continues challenges,” Mr bin Touq said.

Despite the global challenges, the UAE remains focused on resilience
and policies that are “very dynamic”, he added.

The country's economy is expected to expand by 5 per cent this year, the minister said this week.

The government, in line with its We the UAE 2031 economic strategy, aims to double the nation's
gross domestic product to Dh3 trillion ($816.8 billion) by that year.

At Investopia, global executives and politicians reiterated their confidence in the UAE economy,
which has weathered several challenges in recent years, including the Covid-19 pandemic, the
Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Gaza wars and high inflation and interest rates.

The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to begin scaling down interest rates in 2024, and this will
have a significant effect on investor sentiment and economies, Mr bin Touq said.

“If interest rates are scaled down, it will help investors to really put more money in, and there will be a
movement of capital that will [boost] investments into new areas and move the economy forward. So
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we hope that can happen by this year,” he said.

Inflows of foreign direct investment into the UAE are expected to grow further, the minister said. The
country posted a record FDI of about $23 billion in 2022; official figures for last year have yet to be
released.
The UAE also came in second globally after the US in terms of greenfield FDI last year, “meaning that
new investments are coming in new areas that haven't been seen before here in the UAE”, he said.

After the UAE passed a law permitting 100 per cent foreign ownership of companies in 2019, about
75,000 new firms were created in a year and a half, according to Ministry of Economy data.
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