UAE Permanent Virtual Exhibition and Business Directory

A crescent of tremendous oil wealth and impossible cityscapes along the southern edge of the Persian Gulf, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven states. Formerly known as the Trucial States while under the dominion of Great Britain, the UAE gained its independence in 1971.

Today the UAE is a regional hub for tourism and trading and home to two of the Arab world’s most glittering and progressive cities, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Thanks to the Emirates’ oil wealth, the people of the Emirates enjoy a standard of living on a par with those in Western Europe.

The UAE enjoys an open economy and a large per annum trade surplus. Since the 1970s, the country’s economy has been driven by oil and financial services, although successful diversification efforts have reduced petroleum-driven GDP to 25%.

Key industries other than petroleum and petrochemicals include aluminum, boat building, cement, commercial ship repair, construction materials, fertilizers, fishing, handicrafts, textiles and tourism. Agriculture is a minor contributor to GDP but a contributor nonetheless, and dates, dairy products, poultry, vegetables and watermelons are key exports.

The Emirates' Free Trade Zones are especially attractive to foreign investors, as they offer 100% foreign ownership of any Dubai company with zero taxes. The government is also spending some of its trade surplus on job creation and infrastructure improvements while opening its utilities to involvement from private UAE companies.

For the next few years, the UAE hopes to continue to diversify its economy while increasing the education opportunities and private sector jobs available to its citizens.