UAE sets up new ministry to attract foreign investment

WAM

• Total inflows of foreign investments reached $20.7bn in 2021
• Mohamed Hassan Al Suwaidi to head investment ministry
• Sheikh Mohammed seeks to make Dubai a top global financial centre

The UAE is to establish a ministry to attract foreign direct investments to the country.

Mohamed Hassan Al Suwaidi will head the investment ministry, which will support the UAE’s business objectives, investment policies and promote its infrastructure to attract investments in a range of sectors.

It will prepare strategies, legislation, plans, projects and national programmes to promote investments and enhance the Emirate’s competitiveness.

The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting on Monday by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, state-run WAM news agency reported.

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“Our aim is to develop the investment vision of the UAE and promote the investment environment and the competitiveness of this sector in the country,” said Sheikh Mohammed.

Total inflows of foreign investments in the UAE reached AED76 billion ($20.7 billion) in 2021 compared to AED73.04 billion in 2020, the ministry of economy website reported citing data from UNCTAD World Investment Report 2022.

The UAE was ranked first in the Mena region in terms of foreign direct investments (FDI), accounting for 31 percent of the total FDI inflow of $66.6 billion.

Earlier this year, Sheikh Mohammed launched a 10-year economic plan known as D33 that seeks to double the economy’s size and make Dubai one of the top four global financial centres in a decade.

The cabinet also announced plans to set up a financial stability council to monitor risks and deal with financial crises.