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The Government Leaders Forum in Dubai last April
brought together 120 government delegates and
business leaders. It is one of many examples of
the can-do attitude that prevails in the UAE.
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 itting
at the mouth of the Persian Gulf between Saudi Arabia
and Oman, the United Arab Emirates, with its vast hydrocarbon
resources, is one of the world’s richest and most
strategically vital countries. The UAE holds nearly
9% of the world’s proven petroleum reserves, as
well as 5% of its natural gas reserves. The state-owned
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, fuelled by surplus revenues
of 40 years of hydrocarbon exports, is the world’s
second-largest institutional investor, with assets abroad
estimated between $250 and $500 billion.
Things were not always like this however. For thousands
of years the country was inhabited by tribes who did
their best to eke out a living as fishermen and traders
in one of the world’s most inhospitable environments.
Although the discovery of oil in 1958 radically changed
life for the impoverished seven sheikhdoms of the UAE,
previous eras had ingrained a spirit of ingenuity in
the population that is clearly apparent in the nation’s
current economic boom. It is one of the main reasons
for its success, according to Minister of Economy and
Planning Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi. “The people
here are traders in their minds,” she states. “We
are merchants at heart and have always been so.
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SHEIKHA LUBNA
AL QASIMI
Minister of Economy
and Planning
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Even
when oil was discovered here, we did not sit around
and think ‘oh, we are an oil-rich country’.
We had the attitude that we needed to do something with
the oil as traders. This transformed our operations
and now we have Dubai Ports Authority, which is one
of the largest in the world, and the concept of free
zones has been more successful here than anywhere else.”
Today, this spirit is enabling the country to take advantage
of rising global oil prices to build a more diversified
economy. Ongoing negotiations for a free trade agreement
with the U.S. and World Trade Organization membership
are contributing to increased liberalization in the
country, and a younger generation of leaders are promising
a new era of development.
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