Geo-political issues unlikely to affect UAE growth, expert says

Abu Dhabi: Geo-political developments are unlikely to moderate the economic growth of the UAE, a trend in line with IMF projections of growth in the country in 2018 and 2019, a senior official has said.

Juma Mohammad Al Kait, assistant under-secretary for Foreign Trade Affairs at the Ministry of Economy said the “positive outlook for the country’s economy has been affirmed by the advanced ranking across several global competitiveness indices.”

The country’s real gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow 3.7 per cent this year, higher than the 2.9 per cent forecast for 2018 and the 0.8 per cent growth achieved in 2017, according to economic outlook figures from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released in November.

The IMF projects strong growth revival in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai over the next two years. In 2018, Abu Dhabi’s GDP is projected to grow by 2.7 per cent and in 2019 by 3.4 per cent, against -0.5 per cent growth in 2017. The official IMF figures have not yet been released for 2018.

In GCC countries, following a contraction in 2017, growth is projected to recover and reach 2.4 per cent in 2018 and 3 per cent in 2019. As for the non-oil sector, growth is projected to remain steady at 2.4 per cent.

The IMF attributes the projected revival in growth to the implementation of public investment projects, including those consistent with the five-year development plan in Kuwait and ongoing preparations for Expo 2020 in the UAE.