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ABU DHABI/ WAM
The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have strong economic and trade relations, evidenced by their trade exchange between 2013 and 2022 totalling AED317 billion, including AED63 billion for imports, AED85.5 billion for non-oil exports, and AED168.5 billion for re-exports.
Trade exchange between the two countries has grown significantly, with a 120.5 percent increase over 10 years. In 2022, trade exchange reached AED44.1 billion, compared to AED20 billion in 2012, according to the Ministry of Economy data. The value of trade exchange in 2022 saw a growth of over 14.5 percent, with AED7.5 billion in imports, AED14.3 billion in non-oil exports, and AED22.3 billion in re-exports.
The value of trade exchange between the two countries in 2013 amounted to about AED23.3 billion, with AED5.4 billion for imports, AED5.5 billion for non-oil exports, and AED12.4 billion for re-exports.
In 2014, the value of trade exchange reached AED25.7 billion, divided into AED5.8 billion for imports, AED6.3 billion for non-oil exports, and AED13.6 billion for re-exports. The volume of trade exchange increased in 2015 to AED26 billion, with AED5.1 billion for imports, AED6.8 billion for non-oil exports, and AED14.1 billion for re-exports.
The value of trade exchange increased slightly in 2016 to AED25.8 billion, with AED7.5 billion in imports from Kuwait, AED5.7 billion in non-oil exports, and AED12.6 billion in re-exports.
In 2017, the total value of inter-trade reached AED25.4 billion, with AED6.6 billion in imports, AED6.4 billion in non-oil exports, and AED12.4 billion in re-exports.
In 2018, it increased significantly to AED39.3 billion, with imports growing to AED8.5 billion, non-oil exports to AED10.5 billion, and re-exports to AED20.3 billion.
In 2019, the value of inter-trade reached AED38.8 billion, with imports reaching AED7.5 billion, non-oil exports reaching AED9.9 billion, and re-exports reaching AED21.4 billion.
In 2020, inter-trade reached AED30.1 billion, with AED4.2 billion in imports, AED7.4 billion in non-oil exports, and AED18.5 billion in re-exports.
In 2021, trade exchange saw a big jump, reaching AED38.5 billion, with AED4.9 billion in imports, AED12.7 billion in non-oil exports, and AED20.9 billion in re-exports.
Meanwhile, the number of Kuwaiti tourists who stayed in the UAE’s hotels in 2023 increased to 400,000 compared to 250,000 in 2022.
Economic relations are underpinned by active direct investment between the two countries, with Kuwaiti investments in the UAE focused on real estate, tourism, telecommunications, and textiles.
Emirati investments in Kuwait are mainly concentrated in coal, oil and gas, transportation and storage, real estate, telecommunications, minerals, food, hotels, and aviation.