Dubai’s economy has continued to grow despite the challenges posed by regional and global economic conditions, according to government statistics.

Dubai’s non-oil sector foreign trade increased to AED344 billion in Q3 2017, a 13 percent increase from the AED305 billion recorded in the same period of 2016. Re-exports, for their part, increased 34 percent to AED103 billion.

“Dubai’s resilience to external economic turbulence demonstrates the strong fundamentals of its economy and its ability to constantly find new avenues for growth,” said Sheikh Hamdan, Crown Prince of Dubai and chairman of the Executive Council.

In his remarks, Sheikh Hamdan noted that the Dubai’s upcoming Expo 2020 will provide “a strong boost to its economic vitality” and help spur growth over the course of the next few years.

According to the statistics, Dubai saw a 21 percent growth in free zone trading in Q3 2017, in addition to a nine percent growth in direct trade and an eight percent growth in customs warehouses.

Air, land and sea cargo grew by 12, 15 and 13 percent respectively. The value of air cargo reached AED153 billion, while sea cargo reached AED124 billion and land cargo reaching AED67 billion.

“During this challenging year, the Dubai economy has maintained its high competitiveness thanks to the directives of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and the clear government vision that has informed the development of goals, plans and initiatives,” said Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem, chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone.

“We are pleased to see that trading in Dubai continues to grow despite the economic and geopolitical challenges in the region,” he added. “This is testament to the best-in-class infrastructure that we have built and our firm commitment to serving our customers, which has allowed trade to flourish.”

Non-oil trade volumes, measured in weighed tonnes, grew 5.1 percent to 23.4 million in Q3 2017, driven by export cargo, which grew 11.4 percent year-on-year, while import cargo grew 5.2 percent.

Non-oil foreign trade grew 3.5 percent year-on-year to AED985 billion, with re-exports accounting for AED592 billion. Nine-month trade by weight, however, slightly declined to 2.9 percent to 68.8 million tonnes.

Trade with Dubai’s top 10 trading partners grew 2.4 percent in the first nine months of 2017 to AED497 billion, with China accounting for AED128.9 billion, followed by India (AED74.1 billion) and the United States (AED44.7 billion). The largest regional trading partner is Saudi Arabia, which accounts for AED44.7 billion in trade.

Transactions in mobile phones reached AED127 billion in the first nine months of 2017, while gold reached AED120 billion, followed by diamonds (AED75 billion) and motors (AED52 billion).