Dubai – Mubasher: The UAE government is working on raising the industrial sector’s contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) to 16% by 2021 and to 20% by 2025, the UAE’s minister of economy said late Wednesday.
Speaking at the 2nd Sharjah International Conference on Islamic Economy, Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri revealed that the UAE’s non-oil sectors have achieved an average annual growth of 5% between 2010 and 2016.
The top official also highlighted that the value of direct investment inflows reached $9 billion in 2016, rising by 2.2% from figures recorded in 2015.
The reason behind this growth, he said, was that people and investors resort to save havens, particularly as the Islamic economy has proven its credibility and as Islamic financing has become the number one option for financing major international projects.
China recently said it was considering Islamic financing to close its growing liquidity gap and to finance its projects.
The two-day event in Sharjah began Wednesday and ends Thursday, 5 October.
