Page 466 - MOE ENGLISH PR REPORT - APRIL 2025 (Part 1)

4/23/25, 4:21 PM UAE maintains trade leadership and competitiveness: Al Zeyoudi
Partnership Agreements (CEPA) programme. These factors have helped forge a global trade network
linking the UAE with international markets.

He also underscored the pivotal role of semi-government entities and the private sector in boosting
the country’s global trade profile.

Al Zeyoudi revealed that the UAE’s foreign trade continues to achieve significant growth, with

preliminary estimates indicating a 25 per cent increase in the first month of 2025.

He added that the UAE ranked among the top global exporters of digital services in 2024, reflecting

the ongoing development of this vital sector. Key service segments that recorded notable growth
include finance, hospitality, information, and transport, with growth rates ranging between 9 and 14
per cent.

According to the WTO report, global trade in goods is expected to contract by 0.2 per cent in 2025
under current tariff conditions, before rebounding modestly by 2.5 per cent in 2026. Meanwhile,
global trade in services - although not directly subject to tariffs − is projected to grow by 4.0 per cent
in 2025 and 4.1 per cent in 2026.

The report also noted that despite a 2.9 per cent increase in global goods trade and a 6.8 per cent
rise in services trade in 2024, global GDP grew by 2.8 per cent. The total value of goods exports rose
by 2 per cent to reach US$24.43 trillion, while services grew by 9 per cent to US$8.69 trillion.
Services contributed 26.4 per cent of global trade in 2024, marking the highest share since 2005.

The United Arab Emirates recorded total foreign trade of Dhs5.23 trillion (US$1.424 trillion) in 2024, a
49 per cent increase from Dhs3.5 trillion (US$949 billion) in 2021, according to the World Trade
Organisation’s “World Trade Outlook and Statistics” report.

This robust growth reflects the UAE’s strategic economic vision, reinforcing its position as the leading
trade hub in the Middle East and Africa since 2014 and among the top 20 global trade centres for
goods and services.

In a global trade environment marked by 2.9 per cent growth in merchandise trade and 6.8 per cent
in services trade in 2024, the UAE’s performance underscores its resilience amid rising tariffs and
uncertainties.

The UAE climbed from 17th to 11th globally in merchandise exports and from 18th to 14th in imports
between 2021 and 2024, contributing 2.5 per cent to global merchandise exports and 2.2 per cent to
imports. Exports reached US$603 billion (Dhs2.2153 trillion), and imports totalled US$539 billion
(Dhs1.9802 trillion) in 2024.

The UAE ranked 21st globally in digital services exports, valued at US$52 billion (Dhs191 billion) in
2024, up from US$37 billion in 2021 and US$48 billion in 2023. Total digital services trade reached
US$94 billion (Dhs345 billion), comprising one-third of services trade. Digital services imports, at

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