54th Union Day.. The UAE has ceaseless local achievements and an influential international presence

The United Arab Emirates celebrates the 54th Union Day, continuing to consolidate its position as a leading country in various fields, and achieving a wide series of political, economic, humanitarian and development achievements.

The UAE continued its active foreign policy and its pivotal role in world stability, as the year 2025 witnessed intense activity by UAE diplomacy in the international arena to stop the war on Gaza, condemn the civil war in Sudan and seek to stop it by supporting a civilian-led political process. It also intervened to reduce tension between India and Pakistan, stop the escalation between Israel and Iran, and contributed to forming a global opinion rejecting the Israeli attack on Qatar.

The UAE was a platform for dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and its mediation between Russia and Ukraine continued through 17 rounds during which 4,641 prisoners were exchanged.

The UAE was a major stop for a large number of global leaders who visited the country, and in parallel the UAE recorded a prominent presence in the most prominent international summits such as the G20, BRICS 2025, and COP30.

The UAE economy continued its progress to become one of the fastest growing in the world, with the International Monetary Fund expecting a growth of 4.8%, and non-oil foreign trade during the first half of this year amounted to 1.7 trillion dirhams, with a growth of 24.5%, while the country approved the largest federal budget in its history for the year 2026, worth 92.4 billion dirhams, and launched the National Investment Strategy 2031.

Banking assets exceeded 5.199 trillion dirhams at the end of last September, and in parallel credit rose to 2.478 trillion dirhams, while the country launched the “Emirates Global Trade Center” program to attract 1,000 international companies.

The tourism sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product rose to 257.3 billion dirhams, or 13%, and hotel establishments received more than 16.1 million guests during the first half of 2025. A historic achievement was also recorded with Sheikha Nasser Al Nowais winning the position of Secretary-General of the United Nations Tourism Organization.

In the same context, the year witnessed the launch of major projects such as “Al Tay Hills” in Sharjah, “Disney Abu Dhabi” and “Therm Dubai”, in addition to prominent cultural initiatives such as the opening of “TeamLab Abu Dhabi”, the Natural History Museum and the Dubai Art Museum.

The UAE continued the path of modernizing the legislative system by issuing new decrees and laws, including the establishment of the National Drug Control Agency, the Federal Authority for Ambulance and Civil Defense, and a new personal status law, in addition to approving a smart legislative system based on artificial intelligence.

The year 2025 witnessed the launch of long-term strategies in the areas of cybersecurity, attracting talent, eliminating bureaucracy, the volunteer system, and the National Agenda for Family Growth 2031.

The UAE has established its global leadership in the humanitarian field and maintained its position among the largest donors of humanitarian aid worth $1.46 billion. Since the outbreak of the crisis until last November, it has provided more than 9.4 billion dirhams in aid to Gaza, which included transporting more than 100,000 tons of supplies and evacuating 3,000 injured people. It has also provided 3 billion dirhams to Sudan over two years, and has continued to support stability in Yemen, and has extended a helping hand to dozens of countries affected by the crisis. Crises.

The UAE has risen to advanced positions in global competitiveness, and was among the top five in the annual competitiveness report 2025 issued by the Global Competitiveness Centre, and topped the world for the fourth year in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor GEM report, and ranked tenth globally in the Soft Power Index 2025.

The UAE has taken the lead in environmental protection efforts through pioneering projects such as the first marine exploration voyage to the bottom of the sea, with a plan to expand natural reserves in Abu Dhabi to 20%, and launching solar energy plants and hydrogen and wind projects inside and outside the country through national companies.

In 2025, the UAE will achieve a revolution in artificial intelligence and the digital economy, as the rate of use of artificial intelligence tools reached 97%, and the number of programmers exceeded 450,000.

The year 2025 witnessed the inauguration of the Emirati-American Artificial Intelligence Complex with a capacity of 5 gigawatts, the signing of an Emirati-French cooperation framework, and the launch of a global center of excellence for cybersecurity in cooperation with Google, in addition to a global initiative worth one billion dollars to support artificial intelligence projects in Africa.

Infrastructure and urban development projects followed, such as the high-speed train project between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, a national road plan worth 170 billion dirhams, and huge projects in transport, water and energy, in addition to major housing expansions in various regions.