The economy of the UAE is 'strong' despite the changes happening on global financial markets, UAE prime minister, vice president and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said in remarks carried by the official WAM news agency.

Sheikh Mohammed said on Thursday local markets in the second largest Arab economy are supported by flexible legislations that protect foreign investments and capital.

High demand on properties in the country confirms that the UAE's economy and financial institutions were not affected by the changes in the world, he said on the sidelines of a real estate exhibition.

The government, which fully or partially owns 90 per cent of real estate firms, would be in a position to take precautionary measures to protect the economy and financial markets, he added.

Dubai, member of a federation of seven emirates, kicked off a real estate boom in 2002 when it invited foreigners to invest in the sector.

But since the subprime mortgage crisis broke out in the United States and the ensuing liquidity crunch, investors in the world's fifth-largest oil exporter started fretting that the economy is not that immune to global turmoil.-Reuters