According to a senior official on Thursday, the UAE economy grew 7.6% in 2022, almost twice as much as the rise in GDP from 2021.

Although elevated energy prices bolstered economic growth amongst oil exporters in the Gulf region last year, a slowdown is set for 2023 due to uncertainty surrounding the oil price outlook and a demanding global macroeconomic environment.

The UAE plans to double the size of the economy by 2031, Reuters news agency reports, and shift away from hydrocarbons.

"In order to do that, we need 7% GDP growth every year," said the UAE's minister of economy, Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri during an interview with Reuters on the sidelines of the Investopia conference in Abu Dhabi.

"This will come in with all the strategies we have put in place: the impact of the trade agreements, the openness to trade...the aspects of investments seen recently, into the energy transition, for instance, into green hydrogen," he stated.

The UAE's foreign trade reached 2.2 trillion Dirhams ($599 billion) last year, a 17% year-on-year increase. In addition, bilateral agreements have been signed with global partners, including India, Israel and Indonesia. Discussions with other countries are also underway.

Furthermore, the UAE will host the upcoming COP28 climate conference at the end of the year.

"The UAE's strategy is an agile strategy...we are going to see challenges come into the economy quicker and faster," the economy minister added.

"And we need to find solutions not in government but with the private sector, they have a lot of solutions to these kinds of challenges."

Al-Marri went on to say that re-opening China's economy could play a "big role" in lowering inflation around the world, particularly on goods and products coming from China, which is one of the UAE's largest trade partners.