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Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum highlighted the UAE’s latest trade performance in a post on X, where he stated that non-oil foreign trade had hit a record AED 1.937 trillion during the first half of 2026. The Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai described the milestone as evidence of the economy’s underlying strength, the effectiveness of its developmental policies and rising global confidence in the federation. He pointed to a new record in non-oil exports within the six-month period as an additional bright spot in the data. The announcement drew directly on official statistics that Sheikh Mohammed reviewed before sharing them publicly.
The first-half total marked a 13.1 per cent increase from the AED 1.7 trillion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, according to the figures cited in the post. That earlier period had itself posted 24 per cent growth from the first half of 2024, illustrating the sustained momentum across recent years. Sheikh Mohammed has used similar updates in the past to track progress against longer-term economic benchmarks.
The latest results follow the full-year 2025 performance that exceeded AED 3.8 trillion for the first time, an achievement Sheikh Mohammed detailed in a January post on the same platform. That annual figure delivered 27 per cent growth from 2024, 44.3 per cent from 2023, 65 per cent from 2022 and 97.4 per cent from 2021, nearly doubling the 2021 value. Non-oil exports for all of 2025 climbed 45 per cent to AED 813 billion while imports rose 25.7 per cent to more than AED 2.1 trillion, the earlier announcement showed.
Statistics underpinning these updates are produced by the Federal Competitive and Statistics Centre, which maintains comprehensive records of imports, exports and re-exports. Sheikh Mohammed regularly examines the centre’s reports before disseminating key findings through his official channels on social media. The centre’s data has consistently shown trade expansion aligned with the UAE’s diversification initiatives launched over the past decade.
Earlier government targets called for non-oil foreign trade to reach AED 4 trillion by 2031, yet the 2025 full-year result already placed the country well on track to surpass that level years ahead of schedule, according to statements accompanying the January figures. The first-half 2026 outcome reinforces that trajectory and reflects the impact of expanded free-trade agreements and logistical enhancements. Sheikh Mohammed has repeatedly credited private-sector collaboration and an improved investment climate for helping drive these outcomes across successive reporting periods.
