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The UAE’s combined foreign trade in goods and services reached a record AED 4.45 tn in 2023, Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said in an X post following the UAE’s Cabinet meeting in Abu Dhabi.
Total service exports in the UAE reached AED 606 bn in 2023, compared to the AED 570 bn recorded in 2022. More than AED 170 bn of total service exports in 2023 were generated from digital service exports, according to Al Maktoum.
Remember: Non-oil trade hit a record AED 3.5 tn in 2023, Al Maktoum said back in February. Trade in goods was up 12.6% y-o-y to AED 2.6 tn, while trade in services hit AED 900 bn. Exports of goods and services surpassed AED 1 tn for the first time. The UAE’s merchandise exports during the year came in at about USD 488 bn (AED 1.792 tn), according to a recent World Trade Organization report.
The UAE was ranked 15th globally for outward foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2023, the vice president said in a separate X post, citing United Nations Conference on Trade and Development data. Outward FDI flows surpassed AED 880 bn at the start of the year, according to the post.
In context #1: The UAE pledged some USD 44.5 bn in outward foreign direct investments, Bloomberg reported previously, citing data from fDi Markets. In 2022, it pledged USD 52.8 bn in FDI investments in 2022, which exceeded Beijing’s contributions 20x and those of the US 7x,.
In context #2: TotalEmirati investments overseas reached an estimated USD 2.5 tn at the beginning of 2024, UAE International Investors Council Secretary-General Jamal bin Saif Al Jarwan said recently, according to Wam. One of the UAE’s “landmark” investments overseas is ADQ’s USD 35 bn investment to develop Egypt’s Ras Al Hekma, which is expected to drive the UAE’s total investments in Egypt to around USD 65 bn, according to Al Jarwan.
