(MENAFN - Arab News) The volume of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the UAE reached 1.8 billion in 2011 and during this period the total amount of such investments in the entire GCC was 8.64 billion, said Mohammed Omar Abdullah, undersecretary at the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Abu Dhabi.
He said this while speaking about the fifth annual UAE Global Investment Forum, which is scheduled to open at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi.
More than 300 delegates from over 20 countries will be participating in the forum, which is organized in cooperation with the Institutional Investor Conferences. Industry leaders, financiers, investors and policy makers will take part in a range of panel discussions, presentations and interviews.
Abdullah said the total volume of foreign nonoil trade in Abu Dhabi amounted to AED139.4 billion in the year 2011 compared to AED109.2 billion in 2010, marking a growth rate of 27.7 percent.
This figure indicates that investment in the foreign trade sector is on continuous rise, something that ensures a prestigious competitive ranking for the country and broadens the range of FDIs.
He said that the forum is a major opportunity to exhibit major investment projects in Abu Dhabi in light of the government's endeavor to attract more capital into it as a safe haven for investment.
The forum will emphasize the government's eagerness to continue with implementing major developmental projects that ensure proper opportunities for key international firms and investors to increase their investment shares in the country and attract foreign capitals.
He said the continuous success of such major events over the past years reflected the UAE's genuine interest in increasing the volume of foreign investments in the country in spite of the hard regional and international economic circumstances.
"This, however, requires putting in more efforts in order to reinforce the standing of the UAE in general and Abu Dhabi in particular, as an international investment center able to compete internationally in the areas of trade and investment," he added.
Mahmoud Ibraheem Al-Mahmood, CEO of ADS Holding and chairman of ADS Securities, said: "There is increasing focus on Abu Dhabi as a center for business in the Middle East. Stability, liquidity and location are all playing an important part in developing regional and international investment opportunities."
