Despite a tumultuous year in the region, the UAE was able to weather the storm and record near Dh3 trillion in foreign trade thanks to its port infrastructure and underlying economic policies.
In the first nine months of 2026, the UAE’s foreign trade reached Dh2.945 trillion, a 10 per cent increase compared to the same period a year before, the country’s Vice-President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said.
Announcing the results on X, Sheikh Mohammed said that exports to its ten largest trading partners rose 31 per cent from last year, with the number of foreign trade marking a historic first.
Analysts say that when it comes to combatting economic shocks, the UAE’s strong fundamentals when it comes to policy making, resource allocation and governance allowed it to see gains.
Unprecedented global standard
The significant growth in foreign trade presents both the undeniable resilience of the economic ecosystem of the UAE and sets an unprecedented global standard in weathering economic shocks, said Faris Ali, an economist who has previously worked in the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development and the Abu Dhabi Council for Economic Development.
“The UAE leads a robust and proactive governance scheme that enables effective implementation of expansionary policies, coupled with a highly dynamic & responsive market lead by State Owned Enterprises (SOE)’s & private regional-level market leaders,” the economist said.
More options for exporting trade
Ali, who is a consultant for the World Bank Group, said the country’s ports, alongside the state-owned Adnoc, played an important part in activating contingency operational plans. International family businesses and private wealth firms setting up have also sent a message in combating “exogenously sourced economic challenges,” he said.
While global inflation rates have inched to slightly above pre-2020 rates, ranging between 4.1 – 4.7 per cent on average, the UAE has more or less stands between 1.3 per – 4.5 per cent in 2026 to 2027, respectively, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The economist said this indicates “real growth” which is not “primarily driven by the global inflation.”
The IMF projected that the UAE’s economy will grow 7.7 per cent in 2027, but not before shrinking 3.9 per cent this year.
‘Genuine competitive advantage’
Even while global trade routes were disrupted in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, the UAE quickly moved around restrictions and rapidly developed alternative trade routes in the eastern coast. Dr. Raymond Khoury, Senior Partner and Innovation Practice Lead at Arthur D. Little Middle East, called the economic transformation a “genuine competitive advantage.”
The 31 per cent growth in exports are an indicator to the UAE’s diversified relationships and not just a reliance on a single trade route, he added. After the onset of the war, disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, which 34 per cent of the world’s oil trade passed prior to the war, set oil shocks to global markets. For its part, the UAE utilised existing seaports to bypass Hormuz restrictions.
Sustaining economic growth
“The next challenge lies in translating this momentum into greater domestic value added by supporting industry, technology and smart logistics services, and by facilitating small and medium-sized enterprises’ access to foreign markets,” Khoury said.
Continued performance also gives the country greater scope to strengthen its Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPA), which the UAE recently signed with Canada, develop its ports and free zones, and attract high-value investments that benefit from growing goods flows.
Meanwhile, the Arthur D. Little partner said that monitoring risks of weaker global demand and rising shipping costs is key to sustaining growth, all while making sure that businesses benefit from the opportunities that lie ahead.
“In this way, headline growth becomes a foundation for more sustainable and diversified prosperity, strengthening the country’s resilience to recurring external shocks,” he added.
Source: Khaleej Times