Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The Ministry of Economy, in cooperation with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), organised the final forum on the UAE’s Economic Policy Alignment Project, which was launched in February 2023.

The project is aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the country’s economic legislative environment. The forum was held in the presence of  Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, and extensive participation from government and private sector representatives in the country, as well as a delegation from OECD.

Bin Touq said: “The UAE, under the guidance of its wise leadership, boasts a competitive and flexible economic legislative system today. It has witnessed the launch of numerous pioneering legislation and policies for various sectors and economic and commercial activities in the country, particularly the new economic sectors. This falls in line with the objectives of the We the UAE 2031 vision to make the UAE the number one globally in the development of proactive legislation for new economic sectors by the next decade.”

He added: “The alignment of the UAE’s economic policies with those of OECD enhances the readiness of national institutions to cooperate with all relevant international and regional institutions and organizations. This will consequently contribute to a more flexible economic model and the alignment with global standards through further development of economic legislation, the creation of a competitive and sustainable business environment and the promotion of opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors in various economic sectors.”

Bin Touq noted that the project also contributes to the diversification and sustainability of the national economy as it focuses on the development of policies for non-oil economic sectors. He further reviewed strong indicators and results achieved by the UAE economy in H1 2023, most notably the growth of the country’s GDP by 3.7 per cent, as well as the growth of non-oil GDP by 5.9 per cent.

The forum reviewed the outcomes of the Economic Policy Alignment Project, which entails the development of economic policies in accordance with global best practices in four key areas: competition policy, corporate governance policy, entrepreneurship policy, investment policy. It further saw the exchange of experiences and held several technical workshops on the UAE’s efforts in the four areas of the project. More than 150 representatives from nearly 30 government and private sector entities participated in the initiative over a period of more than 10 months, starting from February to November 2023. The project also witnessed the exchange of delegations and expert visits to review more working mechanisms within different economic sectors and to assess existing legislation so that it can be developed and brought to the level of global standards.

Moreover, the forum discussed the most significant results achieved by the UAE economy over the past years thanks to the adoption of its strategic policies aimed at shifting towards a new economic model. The country was able to create a stimulating and more open investment climate through the adoption of an institutional framework for investment promotion, including an amendment to the Commercial Companies Law, which allowed foreigners to own companies in all legal forms in the UAE. The country has also launched several initiatives and legislation that promote a culture of competition in the country’s markets, deepen capital markets and corporate governance, and launch programs that support entrepreneurship and SMEs with a focus on innovation and sustainability standards.

The Ministry of Economy remains keen to take advantage of international standards and practices, in addition to expanding the areas of cooperation, knowledge exchange and economic policy dialogue with OECD.

Meanwhile, Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Martin Kocher, Austrian Minister of Economy and Labor, recently  chaired the UAE-Austria Joint Economic Committee, which was attended by several representatives from both countries government and private sectors.

Abdullah Al Saleh, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy, and. Florian Frauscher, Director General of Economic Affairs, Innovation, and International Policy at the Austrian

Ministry of Economy and Labor, signed the minutes of the session.

The Joint Economic Committee was held in Dubai, with an aim to strengthen cooperation and forge partnerships between the two countries in the fields of trade, investment, tourism, AI, technology, green energy, logistics, infrastructure, and vocational training in the near future.

 Bin Touq affirmed that the bilateral relations between the UAE and Austria are strategic, marked by continuous development on various fronts. This can be attributed to the forward-thinking vision of both leaderships to continually develop the bilateral partnership by capitalizing on emerging opportunities.

The Minister of Economy said: The UAE-Austria Joint Economic Committee is a new milestone in strengthening our bilateral economic ties and fostering collaboration across mutually beneficial sectors. It also aims to explore promising opportunities in both countries markets.