UAE Establishes Emirates Council for Competitiveness Amid Global Economic Concerns

Though we realize this fact, the Council of Ministers has lately decided to establish the Emirates Council for Competitiveness. Its task is to develop strategies and suggest policies and legal frameworks that can support the competitive environment in the light of local, regional and international variables. These frameworks serve the objective of comprehensive development, and protect the Emirates position among the most competitive states on the international arena. The Council consists of a number of ministers concerned with this question. It is headed by the Minister for Cabinet Affairs, and includes the Ministers of Economy and Foreign Trade, Education, Labor, Health, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and for Financial Affairs. In addition, there are seven representatives of administrative boards in the local governments, the chairman of the Union of Trade and Industry Chambers in the State, Directors of Trade and Industry Chambers in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. We are confident that the Council is able to draw strategies and legislative frames to secure the desired development of the competitive capacity of the UAE. By Ro’ya Al Iqtesadiah newspaper In the first quarter of t his year, accelerating economic events have generated pessimism about the future of the global economy and its growth. There are conflicting reports in the assessment of the national economy, and we read some of the studies questioning the continuation of Western-style development plans and their future in the region in light of declining oil prices and the global crisis. What is the assessment of Your Highness on the national economy today, can it be maintained at the level of growth in the light of the retreat of oil prices? What is the policy that the UAE will use with regard to the latest developments of the global financial crisis? Our economy is strong and its potential lies in its great diversity. The proportion of oil in the UAE’s GDP is less than 30 percent, and this reduces the impact of oil price fluctuations on the national economy. I agree with you regarding the presence of many pessimistic reports on the world economy, but it’s an exaggerated and unrealistic pessimism. Countries with the largest economies are seriously committed to rehabilitating the economy, while the summit of the Group of Twenty came out with encouraging results after meeting in London recently. Our hope is to commit ourselves to the implementation of all decisions. In fact, the negative vibrations will decrease, and will be substituted by cautious optimism. As for the levels of growth, few states in the world are likely to maintain high levels of growth recorded in recent years. We in the UAE wi Il achieve economic growth rates lower than those recorded in previous years. By Ro’ya Al Iqtesadiah newspaper Attracting foreign investment was among the priorities of the UAE. Today, the "flight of foreign investors" from the UAE is widely discussed in the media, and is supported by both local and official reports. Does Your Highness really think that our national economy’s dependence on foreign investment leads to future risks? In the frequent talk about the global financial crisis, does Your Highness have new plans to strengthen, develop or restore foreign investments to the country? We cannot use the term "flight of foreign investors" because there has been no “flight.” What happened exactly is the drought of liquidity across the world immediately after the collapse of the American investment bank, Lehman Brothers, which marked the beginning of the global financial crisis. However, with this drought, the compilation of available sources of liquidity became the primary concern of investors, banks, and financial institutions throughout the world. Sizeable withdrawals, deposits and liquefaction of all financial centers HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_024947