The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects the improvement of the real GDP growth of the UAE's non-oil economy to reach 3% next year, compared to the expected percentage (1.6%) of this year.
IMF stated that UAE is likely to see real growth this year of 1.6% and up to 2.5% next year. The country's oil economy is expected to grow by 1.5% this year and 1.4% next year.
Jihad Azour, the Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the IMF, said that “these estimates are not final. The IMF mission is currently in place to hold Article IV consultations with UAE and is expected to complete its work soon. Then the Article IV report on the UAE economy will be released within a week, and the actual projections of the UAE economy will be determined."
Azour explained that the reason for lowering the growth prospects is to extend the agreement of OPEC Plus countries to reduce oil production and fluctuation in international oil prices, which negatively impacted revenues. He also stressed that "non-oil economic sectors continued to grow in the UAE and the region despite the decline in real oil output, and expected the continued growth of non-oil sectors in the UAE and its gradual improvement thanks to the reforms adopted.
Source (Al-Khaleej Newspaper, Edited)
