The UAE has adopted six initiatives to regulate e-commerce, promote the economy, support and regulate public-private partnerships (PPP), achieve growth in non-oil commodity exports and reinforce the country’s position as a global investments hub.

Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, stated during the Second UAE Government Annual Meetings that the annual meetings set a clear path for the performance of key sectors in the UAE and develop a road map for achieving the aspirations of UAE Centennial 2071, reported Emirates news agency Wam.

He added that the UAE wise leadership provided a pioneering platform for exploring challenges, launching strategies, as well as developing national initiatives and programmes that will achieve the aspirations of the UAE.

Al Mansouri affirmed that the economy sector provides several opportunities that open up future prospects through increasing goods exports, regulating e-commerce, identifying the new trends of this sector and developing the infrastructure in line with these trends in order to achieve prosperous and sustainable future.

The Economy Working Group meeting examined the means to develop and enhance the non-oil foreign trade. The team adopted an initiative to implement "Export-oriented Mechanisms, Strategies and Projects", which include schemes and initiatives with direct impact on increasing the value of non-oil commodity exports.

As for e-commerce regulation, the UAE plans to adopt numerous initiatives and regulatory frameworks to license and establish regulations that motivate e-license holders. This includes the Federal E-Commerce Platform initiative, which constitutes a tool for communication and interaction between license holders and consumers.

The meeting also adopted the Regulatory Framework for E-Commerce Licensing and the Regulatory Framework for Transnational E-Commerce Companies initiatives, to encourage fair competition amongst national and international companies in the e-commerce sector, as well as Providing Incentives for E-Commerce License Holders, especially UAE Nationals, to promote entrepreneurship and innovation.

The UAE government further developed purposeful plans to monitor future changes in the country's economy and the infrastructure dynamics through adopting the "UAE’s Annual Economic Outlook Report" initiative. The report is based on the UAE macroeconomic model and analyses future developments.

The UAE has achieved a remarkable growth in non-oil commodity exports, which amounted last year to approximately Dh1.612 trillion ($438 billion). According to the World Trade Organisation, the UAE, which leads the Arab world, is amongst the most important top 20 exporting countries worldwide.

UAE exports are easily accessible to global markets, thanks to the country’s strategic geographic location and the various land, air and sea shipping routes, which earned the UAE its prestigious reputation as a leading country in this area. Furthermore, the UAE has foreign investments in more than 100 countries worldwide, which strengthens the UAE’s reputation as one of the top high-quality exports markets.

The UAE government seeks to improve its business environment in order to promote national investments and attract foreign investors by adopting innovative policies to minimise challenges facing the private sector. It also aims to establish a general framework that governs the public- private partnerships, to ensure benefitting from the outstanding innovations in this regard and create suitable job opportunities for UAE nationals.

The government also aims to set common regulations for e-commerce consumers and investors, in light of the tremendous growth witnessed by this type of trade in the UAE, being among the highest in the Arab world. It is worth mentioning that online spending in UAE is expected to reach $10 billion by the end of 2018.