His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, U.A.E. Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, affirms that the U.A.E. under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is advancing steadily and dramatically across development indicators, reflecting the areas where our economy is progressing ... notably, security and stability indicators are among the best in the world... and the welfare of our citizens is our first priority. His Highness also added that the U.A.E. government is constantly monitoring these global indicators issued by reputable international organisations. Retreating is not an option in our government.
His Highness's comments came in the wake of the results of the Global Competitiveness Report issued by the World Economic Forum in 2014- 2015 in which the U.A.E. advances 7 places in the overall competitiveness of its economy within just one year, becoming the 12th most competitive nation globally, ahead of countries such as Denmark, Canada and South Korea. The U.A.E. impressively leads globally in a number of indicators: 1st globally in quality of the roads and the absence of organised crime, 1st globally for having the lowest rate of inflation, 2nd globally for government procurement of advanced technology, 2nd globally for the effectiveness of government spending, and the impact of taxes on investment and the lack of trade barriers; it also ranks 2nd for the quality of its infrastructure in the aviation sector. The U.A.E. also came in 3rd place globally on indicators such as citizens' confidence in government and leadership, the absence of government bureaucracy, the quality of ports, efficiency of customs procedures, attracting technology through foreign direct investment (FDI); Significantly, for the knowledge economy, U.A.E. ranked 3rd globally for attracting professional talent. Overall, the U.A.E. improved its performance in 78 indicators out of 114.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum further commented that the U.A.E. has progressed in several areas because of the hard work of federal and local teams who are working as one, equipped with a vision that extends to the year 2021; our agendas and sector strategies change continuously as our ambitions keep growing.
His Highness also said, "Despite the many challenges facing our region, our main focus has been, and will remains on progressing in our nation, and developing our economy for the on-going welfare of our citizens. Our message to those around us is that the key to true stability lies in the creation of real development." The U.A.E. showed significant success in all overarching pillars of the report, over the last year. It ranked 2nd in up from 4th in Basic Requirements which measures the readiness of regulations and institutions, infrastructure, health and primary education; In Efficiency Enhancers which evaluates the efficiency and effectiveness of higher education systems, labour market, financial market and technological readiness, the U.A.E. ranked 14th globally up from 20th, and 21st up from 24th in Innovation and Sophistication.
The GCR assesses 144 countries on their ability to provide high levels of prosperity and welfare to its citizens, along a series of performance indicators which evaluates the country's ability to provide the suitable infrastructure for investments. The U.A.E. is currently ahead of developed economies such as Denmark, Canada, France, South Korea and Taiwan, as well as being ahead of countries such as Brazil, Russia, India and China. The nation also leads all the Middle East and North African (MENA) countries.
The country's performance in the latest edition of GCR reflects the concerted and comprehensive national competitiveness strategy and its alignment with the economic and social objectives for the ultimate well-being and prosperity of the U.A.E..
The U.A.E. places high value on the private sector and investors and has unrelentingly tried to ensure a safe context in which to conduct businesses. A fact that was borne out by the report which shows that the U.A.E. is among the safest places to do business, not just in the Middle East, but indeed, internationally.
Our excellent performance can be attributed to the successful policies and breadth of businesses which have created a talented, highly diverse, stable, and competitive business environment across the U.A.E.. This is complemented by the generally high degree of trust in government and safety and security in the U.A.E.. Together these attributes have given U.A.E. a competitive advantage over most other countries.
Source: WAM