Economic Integration Committee Evaluates Achievements And Efforts To Boost UAE's Economic Growth

The Economic Integration Committee convened its inaugural meeting for 2025, led by Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy. Alia bint Abdulla Al Mazrouei, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, and directors from local economic development departments also attended. The session evaluated the Committee's 2024 achievements in enhancing the national economy's growth and diversification. It also examined efforts to boost the business environment's competitiveness and align economic legislation with global standards.

Bin Touq highlighted that the UAE's economic performance in 2024 resulted from significant efforts towards a new model based on innovation and knowledge. This approach established a favourable climate for businesses, investors, and startups globally. He noted that these initiatives bolstered the national economy's growth regionally and internationally. For example, non-oil GDP grew by 4.4% in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

The Committee's success in fostering dialogue with federal and local stakeholders was emphasised by Bin Touq. This collaboration aimed to enhance the country's economic legislative system through reviewing laws and policies according to global best practices. These efforts ensured harmonisation of regulations and proposed sustainable growth strategies for national economic sectors.

The Committee remains committed to developing new economic legislation to position the UAE as a leader in proactive legislation for emerging sectors by the next decade. This aligns with the 'We the UAE 2031' vision. The meeting reviewed its 2024 report, highlighting its role in issuing five laws and four policies governing vital sectors like cooperatives, family businesses, consumer rights protection, corporate governance, and anti-money laundering.

Among various initiatives supported by the committee was one focused on intellectual property (IP). This initiative aimed at fostering innovation within companies while boosting UAE products' competitiveness globally. Another initiative targeted empowering family businesses to ensure their growth and sustainability across generations.

Task Forces and Recommendations

In 2024, the Committee held seven meetings forming seven national task forces to enhance integration between federal and local entities. They worked on implementing key legislation and issued 79 recommendations; over 98% were successfully implemented or are progressing. Efforts continued towards effective implementation of anti-money laundering frameworks focusing on company registrars and designated non-financial businesses.

These measures contributed significantly to removing UAE from FATF's grey list. The meeting stressed further development of UAE’s IP system through collaborative efforts like ‘Instablock,’ protecting live online broadcast copyrights against violations immediately.

Empowering Innovation-Driven Entrepreneurship

A notable project discussed was ‘IP Finance,’ which facilitates financial access for startups using intangible assets like patents. This initiative aims to empower entrepreneurship driven by innovation while strengthening IP frameworks within UAE’s startup ecosystem. Ultimately, these actions contribute significantly towards growing knowledge economies alongside emerging sectors within the country.

The Committee continues its dedication towards achieving national goals through legislative advancements supporting sustainable growth across diverse economic areas while maintaining alignment with international standards ensuring competitiveness at both regional levels globally.

With inputs from WAM