UAE Trade Kept Growing at Double-Digit Rates in First Nine Months, Al Gergawi Says

Al Gergawi spoke at a session on the second day of the Dubai FinTech Summit, part of Dubai Future Finance Week. He said the country's foreign trade reached about $1 trillion last year and that further growth is expected in 2026. He described the UAE as the largest trading nation in the Arab world and said it ranks among the top ten countries for trade facilitation and among the five largest re-export hubs.

He said the strategy is about being ready for different economic conditions, not only benefiting during good times. As part of that, he pointed to work on supply chain resilience: expanding port capacity on the east coast, especially in Fujairah and Khorfakkan, and using the Etihad Rail network to move goods. He added that UAE companies manage and operate more than 140 ports and over 30 airports around the world.

Al Gergawi called Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements a core pillar of the trade strategy. The first, with India, took 88 days to conclude, and later agreements covered Türkiye, Australia and Indonesia. He said the network of agreements and understandings the UAE is pursuing now covers about 40 countries.

He also urged banks to develop new trade finance products and to integrate more closely with commercial sectors. He said the ministry is expanding its use of AI across its operations to speed up procedures, and mentioned work with DHL on training exporters.

The comments follow earlier official figures showing UAE non-oil trade with OIC states up 20.2% to $194.8 billion in the first half of the year, although exports to Iraq fell as the Iran war disrupted re-export flows.