UAE: Accents of 2023

All this year we shared with you the main news of the United Arab Emirates as online content Russia-UAE Trade House Telegram channel, Vkontakte page, the Business Ambassador of Business Russia to the UAE website.
Now that 2023 is drawing to a close, we suggest a look back at the events that were key to the UAE this year.

The UAE economy has shown strong growth.

The UAE economy grew by 3.7% in 2023, driven by growth in all key sectors, and the Arab Monetary Fund recognized the UAE economy as the most competitive in the Arab world.
In addition, in 2023, the number of SMEs in the UAE reached 400 thousand, which also shows the confidence of foreign investors and business leaders.

The UAE has become a center of investment.

This year, the UAE established a Ministry of Investment to develop and enhance the competitiveness of the country's investment environment.

The UAE topped the world ranking for FDI growth after the pandemic.

At the same time, Dubai took the lead: in the first half of the year, the emirate attracted $5.7 billion in FDI and ranked 6th in FDI attraction with a global share of 6.58%.

The UAE has strengthened foreign economic and trade relations with a number of countries.

The UAE's non-oil foreign trade totaled $337.6 billion in the first half of the year, thanks to increased trade ties.
This year, the UAE has signed several Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPA) with a number of countries.
Turnover with Russia is up 63% this year, reaching $8.8 billion in just 9 months.

The UAE has signed an agreement on joining the BRICS association.

Now, the BRICS includes 5 countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
In 2024, the interstate association will include Argentina, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The Emiratisation Law has come into force.

According to the law, at least 3% of employees of private companies with a staff of 50 or more must be citizens of the UAE, and by 2026 - already 10%.
Companies with number of employees from 20 to 49 must have at least one UAE citizen by 2024 and one more by 2025.
Failure to comply with the regulations carries a $26k fine.

Corporate tax for business has been introduced.

Since June 1 of this year, the UAE has introduced a 9% corporate tax for private companies with a profit of $102 thousand.
The UAE corporate tax system is recognized as one of the most profitable in the world due to its low interest rate and a number of benefits for small businesses.

The COP28 International Climate Conference was held in Dubai.

This year, the key theme of the main business event was the energy transition. During the conference, a historic agreement was reached on the gradual replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy sources.

A space mission to the ISS took place.

An astronaut from the UAE, Sultan Al-Neyadi, as part of the crew of Crew-6, which also included Russian cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev, made a successful 6-month expedition to the ISS orbit.
Al-Neyadi became the first astronaut from the UAE to go into outer space.

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