The UAE and 20 African countries launch a new investment map worth $6 billion

The UAE-Africa Tourism Investment Summit 2025, in Dubai yesterday, witnessed the announcement of the launch of a new investment map with diverse and priority tourism projects in the fields of aviation, logistics, infrastructure, and the digital sector, with a total value estimated at about six billion dollars, and providing 70,000 job opportunities in various countries of the African continent.

The Ministry of Economy and Tourism revealed that Emirati companies invested more than $110 billion in new projects on the African continent between 2019 and 2023, which placed the UAE among the four largest global investors in Africa, after the United States, China, and the European Union, as well as the largest global investor in terms of the size of new projects.

In detail, the UAE organized a ministerial roundtable meeting with more than 20 African countries in Dubai, which resulted in the issuance of a joint ministerial statement that included developing a new investment map to enhance cooperation and partnership in the sectors of tourism, aviation, logistics, infrastructure, and digital transformation, thus placing tourism as a major driving force for achieving sustainable economic development in the UAE and the African continent.

This came on the sidelines of the 2025 UAE-Africa Tourism Investment Summit, which was held in Dubai yesterday, in the presence of the Minister of Economy and Tourism, Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, and ministers and tourism officials in more than 20 African countries. The participating ministers affirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation to direct investments, enhance air connectivity and infrastructure to the African continent, and innovate sustainable solutions and policies to support the resilience of the tourism economy in the face of… Global challenges.

Bin Touq said: “Today, the UAE and Africa are witnessing a turning point in the development of a sustainable and flexible tourism sector, through the announcement of the launch of a new investment map with diverse and priority tourism projects in the fields of aviation, logistics services, infrastructure, and the digital sector, with a total value estimated at about six billion dollars and providing 70,000 job opportunities in various countries of the African continent, as this step aims to create a qualitative shift.” At the level of tourism partnerships between the UAE and Africa, it will also open the way for business communities regionally and globally to participate in Emirati-African tourism investment.”

Bin Touq stressed the importance of tourism cooperation during the next phase to build new partnerships between the government and private sectors, with the aim of exploring and developing innovative financing and investment tools in various tourism activities. He pointed out that the UAE, thanks to its strong expertise and promising tourism capabilities, has become a strategic center for establishing such influential and effective international tourism partnerships, and presenting a successful model capable of transferring the UAE tourism experience to Africa.

The meeting focused on cooperation to transform tourism from a cultural activity into a strategic pillar within the economic policies of the participating countries, and highlighted the UAE’s model of tourism development and attracting quality global investments.

In addition, Bin Touq said during his opening speech at the summit, “The UAE has presented an exceptional model for developing its tourism sector, which represented qualitative shifts in its tourism policies and infrastructure in accordance with international best practices, adopting pioneering national initiatives and strategies, pumping investments into various tourism fields, and building distinguished tourism projects in all the emirates of the country, in addition to launching new airports. Expanding the airline network in cooperation with strategic partners around the world, enhancing internal transportation networks, and providing high-quality tourism services, which contributed to consolidating the UAE’s position as a leading tourist destination on the global tourism map.”

He revealed that Emirati companies invested more than $110 billion in new projects on the African continent between 2019 and 2023, which placed the UAE among the four largest global investors in Africa, after the United States, China, and the European Union, as well as the largest global investor in terms of the size of new projects, explaining that these investments include renewable energy, tourist areas, logistics corridors, and digital infrastructure.

Bin Touq pointed out that air traffic between the UAE and the African continent is witnessing remarkable growth, with the total number of weekly flights reaching about 550 flights operated by Emirati and African airlines, which makes air transport networks a vital bridge linking the two sides, and enhances opportunities for cooperation and integration in the fields of transport, tourism and logistics services.

He said that the volume of tourism investments attracted by the state amounted to 28.8 billion dirhams in 2023, increased to 32.2 billion dirhams in 2024, and is expected to reach 35.2 billion dirhams in 2025, which reflects the state’s vision of developing an integrated and sustainable tourism sector.

• $110 billion UAE investments in the African continent within 5 years.