The UAE achieves second place globally in the 2026 Goods Trade Index, and trade between the Global South rises to 35%

DUBAI, 18 JUNE / WAM / The “Future of Trade 2026” report issued by the Dubai Multi Commodities Center, which was launched in Dubai, confirmed that the UAE is likely to play a role beyond its economic size in the next phase of global trade, driven by its position as a linking economy between global markets, its advanced infrastructure, and its ability to support companies in dealing with the rapid transformations in international trade.

The report, titled “Rebuilding through Radical Transformation,” explained that global trade will continue to demonstrate its flexibility over the next two years, but within a new operating model based on employing artificial intelligence in daily operations, fluctuations in customs tariff structures, enhancing the flexibility of supply chains, and accelerating the transformation in the energy sector towards industrial competition.

He pointed out that more than 80% of participants expect slow and uneven trade growth during the next three years, while the most optimistic scenario expects only 4% of participants.

The report revealed an important shift in the global trade map, with the share of trade between the economies of the Global South rising to about 35% of global trade flows, exceeding trade between the economies of the North, which amounts to about 25%, which enhances the importance of trade corridors linking Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.

The report confirmed that the UAE stands out among the middle-influential economies as a major linking economy that combines a strategic geographical location, advanced infrastructure, capital, experience in the goods sector, and diverse trade relations, noting that the country was among the five largest recipients of new foreign direct investment globally during the year 2024.

His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade, said: In light of the rapid transformations the global trade system is witnessing due to turmoil, the emergence of new trade corridors, and the rapid expansion of technology-enabled trade, companies are increasingly moving towards reliable and interconnected economies that allow them to deal with change and access new markets. The UAE has anticipated these transformations with a long-term strategy based on openness, interconnectedness, economic diversification, and investment in infrastructure, in addition to expanding access to high-growth global markets through the Partnership Agreements Programme. The Dubai Multi Commodities Center’s Future of Trade report provides valuable insights into the factors that are reshaping the features of global trade. It also emphasizes the importance of practical and forward-looking solutions that enable companies to transform challenges into promising opportunities.

For his part, Ahmed bin Sulayem, CEO and Executive Director of the Dubai Multi Commodities Center, said: The Future of Trade 2026 report clearly shows that the map of global trade is being drawn again, and with an increasing portion of growth moving to the corridors that connect the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Latin America, companies are looking for destinations that give them stability and help them operate in a more complex trading environment. The UAE has spent decades building this environment, combining world-class infrastructure, access to capital and commodity markets, and deep links with the fastest… The world’s economies are growing. Today, this role is expanding even more as artificial intelligence reorganizes the ways in which trade is done, and as a new financial architecture begins to change the way value is transferred between countries, from stable digital currencies to crypto-based settlement systems. Through Dubai and DMCC, companies have a platform that opens up these opportunities, whether in goods, supply chains, advanced technologies or next-generation trade finance.

Faryal Ahmadi, Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer at the Dubai Multi Commodities Center, said: The UAE’s ranking in second place in the 2026 Goods Trade Index reflects the elements of strength that companies give the highest value to when making long-term investment and trade decisions. At a stage in which costs are rising, supply chains are being re-engineered, and volatility has become a permanent feature of the business environment, the importance of countries that provide the ability to anticipate conditions in advance and allow companies to operate with confidence in multiple markets is increasing in importance. The UAE has established itself among these destinations, and its performance demonstrates the strength of the broader system that supports trade, from the regulatory environment and ease of doing business to infrastructure and access to financing, which are elements that enable companies to grow and expand internationally.

The Goods Trade Index 2026 issued by the Dubai Multi Commodities Center highlighted the pivotal role of the UAE as an economy that connects global markets, as the country ranked second in the world after the United States, while recording the best performance among the ten major centers for goods in terms of corporate tax competitiveness, in addition to strong results in indicators of quality of organization, commodity resources, geographical location, and trade facilitation.

The report confirmed that this performance was achieved despite increasing pressures on global energy and shipping routes, which reflects the flexibility of the country’s commodity system and its ability to enhance energy security, logistics services, and access to strategic resources.

Regarding artificial intelligence, the report showed that goods related to artificial intelligence represent about 15% of global trade, but accounted for 43% of the growth in global trade during the first half of 2025, while the value of trade in 100 production lines related to artificial intelligence reached about 1.92 trillion US dollars during the same period, an increase of more than 20% on an annual basis, compared to a growth of less than 4% for goods not related to artificial intelligence.

The report indicated that the UAE has strong capabilities to benefit from the next phase of growth related to artificial intelligence, thanks to its position as a secure energy commercial center, based on advanced infrastructure, and rich in capital.

In terms of financial infrastructure, the report indicated that the UAE is one of the leading countries in developing regulatory frameworks for stable digital currencies, in addition to its participation in the “Bridge” project for digital currencies for central banks, while its trade financing gap is almost non-existent compared to the global gap of 2.5 trillion US dollars.

The report also indicated that the UAE is emerging as one of the most competitive medium-sized economies in the global energy transition, benefiting from its position as a center for vital minerals and its investments at various stages of the value chain, in addition to its competitive advantage in the fields of renewable energy and low-cost nuclear energy.

The report’s launch event, which was held yesterday in Dubai, witnessed the presence of a number of senior government officials, business leaders and economic experts, where participants discussed the impact of global trade transformations on the competitiveness of the UAE’s economy, its role in supporting flexible trade corridors, enabling growth supported by artificial intelligence, and enhancing the goals of the Dubai D33 Economic Agenda.

“The Future of Trade 2026” is the sixth edition of DMCC’s main research report, and is based on 12 specialized discussion panels in which more than 200 senior leaders, policy makers and trade experts participated, in addition to a survey that included more than 130 companies and experts in the trade sector.

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