Emirates launches 'We the UAE 2031'
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, has announced via his Twitter account the launch of the new Emirati project 'We the UAE 2031'. The announcement comes on the heels of the UAE government's annual meeting where Al Maktoum said, "We ended our previous strategic session in 2021. Today we begin our journey towards new summits under the leadership, patronage and stewardship of my brother Mohammed bin Zayed."
أطلقنا اليوم وضمن الاجتماعات السنوية لحكومة دولة الإمارات "نحن الإمارات 2031" والتي تمثل رؤيتنا الحكومية للعقد القادم.. أنهينا دورتنا الاستراتيجية السابقة في 2021 .. واليوم نبدأ مسيرتنا نحو قمم جديدة برئاسة ورعاية وقيادة أخي محمد بن زايد حفظه الله pic.twitter.com/9redUtsVn3
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) November 22, 2022
'We the UAE 2031' has set ambitious goals for the country. One of the main ones is to double the gross domestic product (GDP). It currently stands at 1.49 trillion dirhams - 395 billion euros - and they want to increase it to 3 trillion - around 800 billion euros. However, GDP is not the only figure to be doubled. The UAE also aims to double the number of tourists by 2031, presumably to 40 million visitors a year. This increase in tourism would contribute 450 billion dirhams to GDP.
This initiative marks the path Abu Dhabi wants to follow in the next decade, as it did in 2010 with Vision 2021, which aimed to accelerate the country's growth with a focus on improving the level of health care and the education system. In addition, emphasis was also placed on the economy and sustainable infrastructure systems, which have improved exponentially over the last ten years, as well as the implementation of security systems to make the UAE the safest country in the world.
Other topics discussed at the meeting included legislative updates, the future of education, "emiratisation" and the country's technological future. However, one of the most important - besides 'We the UAE' - is COP28 due to the current global context. With the recent end of COP27 in Egypt, we are already looking ahead to the next meeting of world leaders to address Climate Change. Next year, this conference will take place in Dubai, although it will have to wait until the end of the year.
