DUBAI (AFP) – Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum has said that the economy of the United Arab Emirates is doing fine and that the worst for Dubai is over.

In an interview with CNN due to air on Friday, Sheikh Mohammed also said that Emirates airline, the largest carrier in the region, will place another order in July following a record purchase earlier this month.

“The worst is over and Dubai is looking for new opportunities for growth, according to Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed,” CNN reported on its website, quoting parts of the interview.

“Dubai and Abu Dhabi and the rest of the emirates are fine,” Sheikh Mohammad, who is also UAE vice president and Prime Minister, told CNN.

“I don’t call it a recession, I call it challenge,” Sheikh Mohammad said about the global economic crisis and its impact on the UAE. “Without challenges, life would be boring.”

He said that Dubai’s giant state conglomerates are restructuring to conform to new realities.

“The companies are restructuring because it’s a new world. You have to stop and restructure.”

The once bustling city state of Dubai was badly hit by the global financial crisis that forced Dubai World, the biggest state-owned conglomerate, to seek restructuring of 23.5 billion dollars (19.1 billion euros) of debt.

Sheikh Mohammad said Emirates airline, which recently placed an order for 32 new superjumbo A-380 aircraft for 11.5 billion dollars (9.3 billion euros), will make a fresh order next month.

The Dubai-based Arabian Business website on Wednesday quoted the ruler as saying: “I think they (Emirates) will have to order some more in the air show in Farnborough,” held in Britain next month.