World Bank and UAE Partner to Boost Investment Reforms and Global FDI Ambitions

New framework aims to strengthen transparency, competitiveness, and investor confidence as UAE targets US$65 billion in annual foreign direct investment by 2031.

The World Bank and the United Arab Emirates have signed a major new partnership framework aimed at accelerating investment climate reforms and reinforcing the UAE's position as one of the world's leading destinations for foreign direct investment (FDI).

The agreement, signed in partnership with the UAE Ministry of Investment, will see the World Bank provide strategic expertise, technical support, and global best practices to help the UAE strengthen the institutional foundations of its investment environment while positioning itself to capture emerging opportunities in a rapidly evolving global economy.

The partnership reflects the UAE's broader ambition to become a premier global hub for investment, innovation, trade, and sustainable economic growth amid intensifying international competition for capital flows and multinational business activity.

Under the framework, the World Bank will support a comprehensive reform agenda focused on improving predictability, transparency, regulatory efficiency, and international competitiveness across the UAE's investment ecosystem.

Officials say the collaboration is designed to help attract higher-quality, long-term investment while strengthening investor confidence and enhancing the country's ability to compete for capital in key future-focused sectors.

The initiative aligns closely with the UAE's National Investment Strategy and its wider economic diversification agenda, which seeks to reduce dependence on hydrocarbons by expanding high-value industries including technology, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, logistics, finance, and digital innovation.

"This partnership reflects the World Bank's commitment to supporting the UAE in building a world-class investment environment," said Boutheina Guermazi, World Bank Director for Strategy and Operations for the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan region.

"By combining global expertise with locally tailored solutions, we aim to help the UAE attract and retain high-quality investment that drives inclusive and sustainable economic growth."

The agreement comes at a time when governments worldwide are competing aggressively to attract international capital amid geopolitical uncertainty, shifting supply chains, technological transformation, and slowing global economic growth.

Analysts say countries that can offer transparent regulations, stable institutions, efficient governance systems, and investor-friendly policies are increasingly emerging as preferred destinations for multinational investment.

The UAE has spent the past decade implementing extensive reforms aimed at strengthening its attractiveness to global investors, including changes to foreign ownership laws, residency programmes, digital economy regulations, business licensing systems, and commercial dispute resolution mechanisms.

These reforms have helped transform the country into one of the Middle East's most important economic and financial centres, serving as a regional headquarters hub for thousands of international companies.

According to the UAE Ministry of Investment, the country entered the world's top 10 destinations for foreign direct investment in 2024 — a milestone the Government sees as validation of its long-term economic transformation strategy.

H.E. Mohammad Abdulrahman Alhawi, Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Investment, said the new partnership builds upon years of cooperation between the UAE and the World Bank.

"Building on the longstanding collaboration between the UAE and the World Bank, anchored in the 2019 framework agreement with the Ministry of Finance, this partnership reaffirms our ambition to position the UAE as a strategic gateway for global investment," he said.

The UAE has now set an ambitious target of doubling annual foreign direct investment inflows by 2031, aiming to reach US$65 billion per year.

"Entering the world's top 10 FDI destinations in 2024 was a milestone, and our ambition is to double annual FDI by 2031 to reach US$65 billion," Alhawi said.

"We remain committed to an investment climate that is ever more transparent, agile, and competitive."

Economic experts say achieving that target will require continued reforms to strengthen regulatory certainty, enhance innovation capacity, improve market access, and maintain macroeconomic stability.

The World Bank's involvement is expected to support the UAE in benchmarking its investment framework against international standards while identifying policy improvements that can further enhance investor trust and ease of doing business.

The partnership also highlights the growing importance of institutional quality and governance frameworks in shaping global investment flows.

Investors are increasingly prioritising countries that demonstrate legal certainty, efficient public administration, sustainable economic planning, and strong digital infrastructure.

The UAE has emerged as one of the region's strongest performers in these areas, leveraging its strategic geographic location, modern infrastructure, free economic zones, and business-friendly regulatory environment to attract global corporations and investors.

Beyond economic diversification, the partnership is also expected to support broader sustainability and innovation objectives by helping channel investment into emerging sectors tied to the green economy, advanced technologies, and knowledge-based industries.

World Bank officials say fostering high-quality investment is critical not only for economic growth, but also for job creation, productivity gains, technological advancement, and long-term economic resilience.

The collaboration further strengthens the UAE's international economic partnerships at a time when Gulf nations are increasingly repositioning themselves as global investment and innovation centres competing on a worldwide scale.