The United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates is one of the Arab countries that was established in 1971 AD; It emerged as a result of the union of seven emirates: Dubai, Ajman, Ras al-Khaimah, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Umm al-Quwain, and Fujairah. The Emirate of Abu Dhabi is the official capital of the UAE, and the Emirati dirham is the official currency of the state.
The Emirates is located in the southeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula, and its sea shores contribute to the formation of the southern side of the Arabian Gulf, while its shores on the western side are part of the Gulf of Oman; Therefore, the UAE has a strategic location; It has a common land border with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate of Oman, and overlooks the Strait of Hormuz.
The economy of the United Arab Emirates
The economy of the United Arab Emirates depended on fishing, agriculture, and the trade of dates and pearls in the past, but since the fifties of the twentieth century AD after the discovery of oil in the Emirates; Radical developments appeared in its economy and were reflected in its social life, and many economic fields flourished in the country, such as: dependence on the extraction of natural gas and oil, the development of building real estate and companies, the growth of various industries, and other fields.
The UAE in general, and its economy in particular, is distinguished by several advantages that contribute to its continued economic growth, the most important of which are:
Strategic location: The Emirates is distinguished by its important location, which has contributed to making it a business center, as it possesses a distinguished network of air and land transportation that connects it with all countries of the world.
Possession of financial reserves: the UAE's reliance on a strong financial stock that helped it build a sophisticated investment environment; This contributed to the UAE government's continuation of providing appropriate funding for its projects, and the payment of its financial obligations.
Relying on economic diversification: It is the UAE’s interest in implementing strategies that help stimulate diversification in the economy; Which contributed to encouraging the non-oil sectors to enhance their economic participation. Examples of these sectors are aviation, manufacturing industries, banking, tourism, services, and others.
Enhancing the presence of foreign investment: It is the keenness of the UAE to attract foreign investments to its economic sector; The UAE ranked first in 2014 among the countries in the Middle East that were able to directly attract foreign investments.
sectors of the UAE economy
The economy in the United Arab Emirates contains a number of main economic sectors, the most important of which are:
oil sector
Oil was discovered in the UAE in 1958 AD after it required thirty years of research in a field called Bab, and after the development of this field was completed in 1960 AD, it became named Murban 3, and it produces approximately 3,674 barrels of oil on a daily basis, and the first shipment of oil was exported Emirati oil in 1963 AD, and then many other oil fields were discovered, including the Bu Hasa field, the Assab field, and the Sahel field.
agriculture sector
After the establishment of the United Arab Emirates, the government announced in Abu Dhabi in 1977 its three-year development plan, and one of its focus was the interest in the agricultural sector, and its keenness to promote its development permanently; Through the reclamation of agricultural lands, which before 1977 constituted 1% of the total lands of the Emirates, but with the developments in agriculture, it became 5% of the country’s area, and in 2011 the UAE was able to achieve self-sufficiency for its citizens with 50% of agricultural production The agricultural products in the UAE included many fruit and vegetable crops, such as: eggplant, tomatoes, and other fruitful plants and trees.
industry sector
The United Arab Emirates was interested in the industry sector; Because it is the basis of the productive system in it, and it constitutes an important part of its economy, and a means of development. The industrial sector is characterized by the diversity of projects implemented in it, whether they are small or medium or dependent on the participation of foreign investment; Where the manufacturing industry in the Emirates witnessed between the years 2001-2015, a growth of 7.2%, and many high-quality industries appeared in the UAE local market, such as: aluminum industry, chemical industries, and iron industry, and this industrial development contributed to improving investments massive investment, attracting foreign investments, and promoting reliance on modern technology.
tourism sector
The United Arab Emirates has witnessed a great development in the tourism sector, which has become one of the most important sources of national income, and the Emirate of Dubai ranked fourth in the field of tourism in the world, and the UAE was ranked among the countries that invested most in tourism; As its tourism investments were able to build many hotels, shopping centers, and tourist resorts; Which contributed to attracting foreign capital, and among the most famous tourist sites in the Emirates are the Heritage Village, Burj Al Arab, Burj Khalifa, Ajman Museum, and many other sites.
financial sector
The development of the financial sector in the United Arab Emirates has depended on financial markets and a strong banking system; Which contributed to providing support to many areas of the financial sector, such as multiple products, gold, securities, and other financial fields, and this helped attract a lot of local and foreign investments; The growth rate of the financial sector during the time period between the years 2001-2015 amounted to approximately 14.5%, and there are many factors that contributed to promoting the growth of the financial sector, including:
Investors view the UAE as one of the regions that provides security for capital and diversified investments; As a result of its own political stability.
Increasing economic needs in the Emirati society; Which contributed to supporting the economic demand, and this was an important factor in attracting capital.