Abu Dhabi targets 8 per cent non-oil growth over next 20 years

'We are not in a panic mood in looking at oil as the primary driver of growth,' an official said at the NBAD Global Financial Markets Forum.

Khalifa Salem Al Mansouri, Undersecretary of the Department of Economic Development Abu Dhabi, speaks at the NBAD Global Financial Markets Forum. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

Abu Dhabi is targeting growing its non-oil GDP by up to 8 per cent over the next 20 years by developing sectors such as education, healthcare and logistics, an Abu Dhabi official said at the NBAD Global Financial Markets Forum.

“We are on track of driving non-oil economic growth between 6 and 8 per cent for the next 20 years,” said Khalifa Salem Al Mansouri, undersecretary of Abu Dhabi’s Department of Economic Development.

“We are not in a panic mood in looking at oil as the primary driver of growth.”

He said oil’s contribution to GDP has increased from less than 40 per cent in 2008 to around 50 per cent in 2014, he said.

According to the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, the non-oil sector is expected to contribute 64 per cent of GDP by 2030.

The UAE economy is the most diversified in the Arabian Gulf region, with oil and gas contributing to less than 40 per cent of the economy.

The Institute of International Finance (IIF) expects the UAE’s growth this year to come in below IMF forecasts and post a wider deficit because of lower spending and low oil prices.

The UAE economy is forecast to grow at 2.5 per cent this year and post a fiscal deficit of 8 per cent, according to the IIF.

The IMF, however, had UAE’s growth for 2016 at 2.6 per cent, a cut of 0.5 percentage point compared with its October projection of 3.1 per cent growth.

Follow The National's Business section on Twitter