| | OCTOBER 20238IN FOCUSCHINA, ZAMBIA TO PERFORM WELL ON VITAL ECONIMIC SECTORSUAE SECURES STAGGERING GROWTH OF 31.8 PERCENT IN 2022President Xi Jinping stated that China supports Zambia's national sovereignty, security, and development interests, as well as encouraging greater imports from the southern African country. Xi met Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema in Beijing, and the two nations' ties were upgraded to a "comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership,". Xi pledged to collaborate with Zambia to boost infrastructure, agriculture, mining, and sustainable energy cooperation.Zambia is seeking to restructure its external debt with China and find more trade opportunities with the world's second-largest economy. Hichilema thanked China for supporting the African Union's accession to the Group of 20 major economies at its Sept. 9-10 summit in New Delhi, and for its positive role in resolving Zambia's debt problem, Xinhua said, as per reuters.It was unclear whether China and Zambia had signed any debt arrangements. According to data gathered by the American Enterprise Institute think tank, China has major business interests in Zambia, having invested in over 30 projects through its Belt and Road Initiative between 2014 and 2023.It reveals that the projects totaled $11.3 billion and ranged from the energy sector to agriculture and aviation. China also consumes almost one-fifth of Zambian exports, primarily copper. In 2022, the UAE government achieved a fiscal balance surplus as revenues surged by a stunning 31.8 percent, owing to high oil prices, increasing tax collections, and significant growth in practically all critical sectors of the economy.The Ministry of Finance's fiscal performance study for 2022, released on Sunday, revealed a gain in tax revenues as a result of streamlining and digitizing tax procedures, as well as intensifying tax awareness programs, which boosted the efficiency of tax collection."We remain steadfast in fulfilling the directives of our visionary leadership by implementing innovative fiscal policies and executing transformative projects that create stronger fiscal buffers to mitigate the impact of global financial fluctuations," said Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the UAE.Sheikh Hamdan said that fiscal policy enhanced economic growth and the competitive business environment, which resulted in the UAE's ranking as the fastest-growing economy in 2022, as per Khaleejtimes.The UAE economy rose 7.9 percent in 2022, with practically all sectors rising rapidly, bringing the country's GDP at constant prices to Dh1.86 trillion at current prices, a Dh337 billion increase over 2021. Furthermore, rising oil prices bolstered government earnings last year, when the Russian-Ukraine crisis drove crude prices to multi-year highs.According to the Ministry of Finance, other revenue will increase by Dh19.33 billion in 2022. From Dh13.55 billion in 2021 to Dh14.92 billion in 2022, social contributions increased. This surplus, more importantly, will allow for larger fiscal buffers to cushion the impact of prospective financial threats.
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