The UAE economy, the second largest in the Arab world, grew by around 3.8% in the first half of 2023 and is projected to swell by 6% through the year, the country’s economy minister was quoted on Wednesday as saying.

Abdullah bin Touq Al-Marri also said the ministry is pushing ahead with plans to achieve its target of doubling the country's GDP by 2031 to 3 trillion dirhams ($820 billion) by 2031 from AED 1.5 trillion.

In an interview with the semi-official UAE Arabic language daily Alittihad, Marri said growth this year was spurred by strong performance of the non-oil sector, which expanded by around 4.5% in the first half of 2023.

“The UAE economy is heading steadily for a viable and accelerated growth…we expect it to grow by over 6% this year in the light of the strong performance of the non-oil sector,” the minister said in the interview.

(Editing by Brinda Darasha; brinda.darasha@lseg.com)