Dubai has announced an $8.7 trillion economic development plan for the next decade that should double the size of the city's economy and place it among the top three most developed in the world, CNBC reports..

“Dubai will rank among the top four global financial centers with an increase in foreign direct investment to over AED650 billion ($177 billion) over the next decade. Over 300,000 global investors are helping make Dubai the world's fastest growing city,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, tweeted..

Dubai will rank as one of the top four global financial centers with increase in FDI to over AED 650 billion over next decade. Over 300,000 global investors are helping build Dubai in the fastest growing global city pic. twitter. com/keoH7h2eik.

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) January 4, 2023.

The post describes several of the 100 "

increase in foreign trade to 25.6 trillion dirhams from 14.2 trillion dirhams over the past decade;

Nearly doubling annual FDI to AED60 billion per year;

increase in government spending from 512 billion dirhams in the last decade to 700 billion in the next;

increasing private sector investment from 790 billion dirhams in the last decade to 1 trillion in the next;

securing AED100 billion in annual contributions to the economy from digital transformation projects.

A few days ago, Dubai announced the abolition of a 30% tax on alcohol, which seems to have been done to stimulate tourism and business.. The glitzy commercial and tourist capital of the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, the emirate has been implementing a series of reforms in recent years to make it more attractive for foreigners and international companies to live and invest..

The size of the city's economic targets may raise some skepticism, but financial experts in Dubai believe they are achievable..

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Karim Jeta, chief investment officer at Dubai-based wealth management firm Longdean Capital, pointed to competition: neighboring Saudi Arabia is itself investing trillions to shed its closed and conservative image and attract tourism and foreign investment..

“As neighboring countries like Saudi Arabia open up and seek to attract more regional business, Dubai is setting its sights higher and aiming to become a global hub,” he said..

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Dubai has long been a regional center of the Middle East, but recently it has been spreading its influence in the world. 90% of the population here are foreigners from different parts of the world, and over the years the city has offered a lifestyle comparable to the Western world, as well as beaches, no income tax and one of the lowest crime rates in the world..

The UAE recently changed its Friday-Saturday Islamic holidays to Saturday-Sunday Western holidays to match the rest of the world and began offering a telework visa program due to the coronavirus pandemic..

With most of the world expecting a wide-ranging recession in 2023, high energy costs and slow economic growth, the Gulf states are generally looking to prosper, Nomura's Fadlallah says - bolstered by still-high oil prices and plans to diversify the economy.