Dubai, United Arab Emirates, a rich country in the Middle East, has laid out a blueprint to double the size of its economy over the next 10 years.
UAE Vice President and Dubai Leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced the development and investment plan on Twitter on Jan. 4.
According to the plan, Dubai Economic Agenda "D33," Dubai aims to pursue 100 innovation projects by 2033 and achieve an economy of 32 trillion dirhams (about 1,000 trillion won).
"Through this plan, foreign direct investment will exceed Dh60 billion (about KRW 20.7 trillion) per year, and Dubai will become the world's third largest city," Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said.
The UAE also plans to add 400 more trading partner cities in Dubai and increase trade volume to AED 25.6 trillion (about KRW 8,848 trillion), a 44 percent increase from the current level.
Dubai is pursuing a range of open-door policies to consolidate its status as the Middle East's financial, commercial and trade hub.
In this regard, Dubai earlier this year abolished the 30% liquor tax to attract foreign tourists.
Last year, unmarried men and women were allowed to live together, and the holidays that were previously Fridays and Saturdays were changed to Saturdays and Sundays.
Dubai's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic was 307.5 billion dirhams (about 106.3 trillion won) from January to September last year, increased by 4.6 percent from the same period last year, Bloomberg reported.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently predicted that the so-called "big three" of the global economy, including the United States, the European Union and China, would slip into recession in masse, but had forecast strong economic growth for the UAE, AFP reported. [YonhapNews]
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