The UAE Cabinet has approved a record budget for fiscal year 2026 with revenue at about Dh92.4 billion ($25.2 billion), aimed at “balanced development” for the economy and society.
The Cabinet also approved the establishment of a programme that will grant the Federal Financial Centre annual allocations from the federal budget, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, said in a post on X. The programme aims to ensure the “financial sustainability of the federal state’s institutions”, he said.
The expected revenue is nearly 30 per cent higher than the Dh71.5 billion in the 2025 budget.
The budget “consolidates the federal system and reflects our ongoing commitment to balanced development”, Sheikh Mohammed said.
He added that the UAE’s cumulative outward foreign investment balance in 2024 hit Dh1.05 trillion, a 9 per cent year-on-year increase, placing the country first in the Arab world and among the top 20 global economies exporting FDI. The figure was drawn from the Cabinet’s review of the results of the National Agenda for Foreign Direct Investment.
UAE exports, meanwhile, have more than doubled to about Dh950 billion from 2019 to 2024, reflecting the country’s export development policy, Sheikh Mohammed said.
The country has adopted 35 international economic and co-operative agreements, he added. That has boosted the UAE’s profile on the global stage and serving as a magnet for further investments.
“Our budgets are balanced, our investments are increasing, our foreign trade is accelerating, our economy is growing and our country is in glory and prosperity,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
The UAE, the Arab world’s second-largest economy, has continued to boost its economic mechanisms by introducing several initiatives and investor-friendly regulations in a bid to be among the most competitive in the world.
The Emirates has also been resilient amid uncertainty in the global economy. As a result, gross domestic product is projected to expand 4.8 per cent in 2025, which would outperform the global average, the International Monetary Fund said this month.
This will also be driven by strong non-hydrocarbon growth and Opec production increases, before expanding at a further 5 per cent rate in 2026, the Washington-based fund said. The economies of Abu Dhabi and Dubai are this year expected to jump 6 per cent and 3.4 per cent, respectively, the IMF added.
In a further boost to economic activity, the UAE last month unveiled the National Policy for Economic Clusters, with the goal of boosting the country’s GDP by more than Dh30 billion a year.
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