UAE Drives New Economy Growth With Circular Economy Policies, Innovation Push

The new economy reflects the UAE's clear national vision to build a resilient and diversified economy led by innovation, supported by national talent and the attraction of high-quality investments.

This is underpinned by a package of government policies and initiatives, flexible legislation and advanced infrastructure, reinforcing the country's position as a global hub for business and innovation and strengthening its readiness for global economic changes and future requirements.

A total of 22 circular economy policies have been approved and implemented across several fields, including measures to improve waste management and enhance recycling nationwide. These range from applying extended producer responsibility and developing source-based waste separation systems in residential, commercial and institutional sectors to establishing a national database for materials and waste, regulating resource flows between emirates to support investments in recycling facilities, and preventing plastic and recyclable material leakage.

Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Tourism, said the UAE is entering a new phase, transitioning from a knowledge- and innovation-based economy to a new economy model. He explained that this direction represents today's roadmap towards the economy of the future and is one of four key determinants set by the UAE Government under the 'We the UAE 2031' vision, aiming to position the country as a global centre for the new economy within the next decade.

Speaking to Emirates News Agency (WAM), he highlighted the role of the ministry's initiatives, partnerships and projects in enabling and advancing new economy sectors, including advanced technology, artificial intelligence, the digital economy, e-commerce, renewable energy, the circular economy, green technologies, media, digital arts, financial technology and smart transport. These efforts have contributed to increasing the number of companies and commercial licences operating in new economy sectors to 56,000 by the end of the first half of 2025.

He added that cooperation with public and private sector partners has focused on developing proactive legislation and policies to accelerate the UAE's transformation into a global hub for new economy sectors. Ten key policies and laws have been issued or updated in these areas, notably the Law on Trading by Modern Technological Means, the Law on the Regulation and Protection of Industrial Property Rights, the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Law, and the Commercial Transactions Law.

Regarding developments in the national policy for economic clusters, which serves as a main driver for increasing the contribution of the new economy to the UAE's GDP, Al Marri said work is currently under way with ministry partners to develop the food economic cluster. This cluster integrates agricultural production, food industries and modern agricultural technologies within a single, collaborative and integrated ecosystem.

He explained that the cluster aims to increase the contribution of the food sector and its related activities to national GDP, while enhancing competitiveness and empowerment for private sector companies operating in this vital sector, which continues to record strong growth. He noted that the number of registered and operating national and international trademarks in this field reached 40,486 by the end of the first half of 2025.

Al Marri also pointed to ongoing work by the UAE Circular Economy Council on the second package of policies to accelerate the country's transition towards a circular economy model. These policies focus on developing a national roadmap for green infrastructure, promoting circular water management in industries, issuing national guidelines for multi-material product design, developing reverse logistics and supply chains, supporting high-impact projects that reduce waste, and empowering small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the circular economy, in line with the UAE Circular Economy Agenda 2021-2031.

The council's policies also include reducing food loss and waste, enhancing sustainable management of agricultural resources, expanding the use of recycled content in consumer goods, regulating the life cycle of tyres and biodiesel, developing electric vehicle infrastructure and unifying charging systems, supporting sustainable aviation fuel, and improving the regulation of operating leases and waste oil management.

- ANI