#UAE's GDP grew 7.6% in 2022, econ minister says | Reuters

UAE's GDP grew 7.6% in 2022, econ minister says | Reuters

The United Arab Emirates' economy expanded 7.6% last year, a senior official said on Thursday, about double the rise in gross domestic product (GDP) recorded in 2021 as the Gulf state rebounded sharply from the Covid-19 pandemic.

While higher energy prices supported economic growth across the Gulf region's oil exporters last year, a slowdown is forecast this year with a more uncertain oil price outlook and a challenging global macroeconomic environment.

The UAE aims to double the size of its economy by 2031 and diversify away from hydrocarbons.

"In order to do that, we need 7% GDP growth every year," UAE minister of economy Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the Investopia conference in Abu Dhabi.

"This will come in with all the strategies we have put in place: the impact of the trade agreements, the openness to trade...the aspects of investments seen recently, into the energy transition, for instance, into green hydrogen," he said.