‘We The UAE 2031’ 10-year plan launched
Suzanne Locke 29 November 2022
A strong economy, generating new jobs, protecting the environment, legal reform and the future of education are the focus of a new UAE 10-year plan, We The UAE 2031, launched last week.
It follows the UAE Vision 2021, launched in 2010, and helps the UAE in its ‘next 50’ roadmap to achieve the decades-long plan of UAE Centennial 2071.
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said of the 2031 plan: “The UAE will maintain its position as an economic destination…
‘New vision’ for legal reform
“Economic prosperity, social wellbeing and development of human capital will be the main pillars of the next 50.”
Maryam Al Hammadi, Secretary-General of the Cabinet, said that there was a “new vision for the legislative process”.
A number of major legal reforms have already taken place in recent years, such as changes last November to allow investors and entrepreneurs to establish and own onshore companies in almost all sectors.
GDP to double
Dr Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said the 2031 strategy would include a “comprehensive Emirati industrial movement led by vital development sectors”.
The goal of this is to grow the industrial sector to Dh300 billion, in line with Operation 300bn, an industrial strategy announced in March that allows for 100 percent foreign ownership of projects, among other reforms.
‘We The UAE 2031’ also aims to double gross domestic product (GDP) from Dh1.49 trillion to Dh3 trillion.
Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, said a “new culture in government, based on flexibility, proactive, integration and realism at the federal and local levels”, and a “positive role maintaining peace and stability”, will be crucial.
Four pillars of ‘We The UAE 2031’
1. Forward society
Focus: Citizens, families, education, health.
Goals: Put UAE in top 10 countries in the Human Development Index; put UAE cities among the world’s 10 Best Cities.
2. Forward economy
Focus: Human capital, high economic growth in all sectors, energy transformation, enhancing green economy efforts.
Goals: Put UAE in top 10 countries for global talent; double UAE GDP to Dh3 trillion; increase non-oil exports to Dh800 billion; raise UAE foreign trade to Dh4 trillion; raise contribution of tourism to GDP to Dh450 billion.
3. Forward diplomacy
Focus: Respect for human values, strong UAE foreign relations worldwide, be a supportive force for the global environmental agenda.
Goals: Achieve “qualitative leaps” in climate neutrality; consolidate the UAE’s position as an innovation hub in sustainability, science and technology.
4. Forward ecosystem
Focus: Infrastructure using latest technological methods – government services, legislation for new economic sectors, flexible business models.
Goals: Provide the best government services in the world; make the UAE top-ranked in the world in developing proactive legislation for new economic sectors; put the UAE in top three worldwide in global cybersecurity index; put UAE in top 10 on global food security index.
