Abu Dhabi Will Not Meet 7% Economic Growth Target

* username: rupertbu

Abu Dhabi won’t reach its growth target of an annual 6 percent to 7 percent over the next 20 years, said Mohamed Omar Abdulla, undersecretary at Abu Dhabi’s department of economic development.

“We have to make downward adjustments in terms of the growth,” Abdulla said in an interview today in Abu Dhabi. ”The average growth will be 6 to 7 percent according to the vision; this will not be the case.”

The Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 set growth targets of 7 percent through 2015 and 6 percent thereafter. Abu Dhabi, which holds almost 90 percent of the United Arab Emirates’ oil reserves, is forecast to lead the Gulf state’s economic recovery as its smaller neighbor Dubai seeks to restructure $22 billion in debt.