Mohammed congratulates Khalifa on UAE being named as 'world’s most efficient government' by IMD

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has congratulated the President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan on UAE’s winning the first position in government efficiency, quality of government’s decision taking and lightest bureaucracy.

According to the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2014, published by the Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD), the UAE is number one globally for excellence in public spending, low government debt, effective corporate boards, and quality of air transport.

The IMD report is a worldwide reference point for the competitiveness of nations. It covers 60 countries and analyses how well each economy manages its resources in order to generate prosperity for people.

The IMD report is based on more than 330 sub-indices based on statistical indicators and questionnaire data. UAE ranked number two in the world on four sub-indices: strong trade balance, budget surplus, ease of doing business, and labor force growth. It ranked number three in the world on measures of the current account balance, transparency, and stock markets.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid welcomed the report’s findings. He asserted: "The title of ‘most efficient government in the world’ was earned by the commitment and dedication of every member of UAE government team. We are truly transforming public service in UAE, and here is the proof. We have shown what can be achieved on the world stage by a small nation with big ideas."

Sheikh Mohammed said: “Let us never forget: competitiveness is a race with no finish line. We must never stop improving: even as Number One, we have a duty to do better tomorrow, and every day. Because this is also a race with the richest of prizes: a government that delivers happiness and prosperity to all of the people of the UAE.”

EARLIER REPORT

The UAE has the most efficient government, the strongest decision-making and the lightest bureaucracy in the world, according to a major annual report by the Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD).

The World Competitiveness Yearbook 2014, released on Wednesday, also ranks the UAE as number one globally for low government debt, effective corporate boards, and quality of air transport.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE  and Ruler of Dubai, welcomed the findings in a personal message to government employees.

"The title of ‘most efficient government in the world’ was earned by the commitment and dedication of every member of UAE government team. We are truly transforming public service in UAE, and here is the proof. We have shown what can be achieved on the world stage by a small nation with big ideas," said Sheikh Mohammed.

The IMD report is a worldwide reference point for the competitiveness of nations. It covers 60 countries and analyses how well each economy manages its resources in order to generate prosperity for people.

On the headline measure of global competitiveness, UAE ranked eighth in the world for 2014, above Denmark (9th) and Norway (10th). UAE  also ranked 8th the previous year.

Sheikh Mohammed urged government employees to sustain their ongoing drive to improve the quality of government service, cautioning against complacency.

"Let us never forget: competitiveness is a race with no finish line.  We must never stop improving: even as Number One, we have a duty to do better tomorrow, and every day. Because this is also a race with the richest of prizes: a government that delivers happiness and prosperity to all of the people of UAE," Sheikh Mohammed said. 

The IMD report is based on more than 330 sub-indices based on statistical indicators and questionnaire data. U.A.E. ranked number two in the world on four sub-indices: strong trade balance, budget surplus, ease of doing business, and labour force growth. It ranked number three in the world on measures of the current account balance, transparency, and stock markets.

In the questionnaire data, business executives attributed the UA.'s attractiveness to economic dynamism, a business-friendly environment, competent government, reliable infrastructure and a competitive tax regime.

UAE moves up in WEF’s 2014 Network Readiness rankings

The UAE has moved up in the latest global rankings of information and communication technology competitiveness (ICT) by the World Economic Forum (WEF), strengthening its position as one of the most techno-savvy countries in the world, with the momentum fueled by a strong government ICT vision enabling U.A.E. to become world’s 24th most "networked ready" nation, moving up from the 25th place a year ago.

"U.A.E. government has been relentless in its pursuit of technological excellence, as is clearly exemplified by bold commitments to smart city development and infrastructural innovations related to events like Expo 2020," said Rabih Dabboussi, Managing Director, Cisco U.A.E.

Applauding U.A.E. for its continued drive and focus towards becoming one of the world's most ICT-enabled nations, Cisco, sponsor of the report, said the Global Information Technology Report (GITR), co-published by the World Economic Forum and INSEAD, showed that among the 148 economies, U.A.E. is the world’s 24th most "networked ready" nation, moving up from the 25th place a year ago.

The report measures the effectiveness of various markets in harnessing the power of information and communication technology to boost economic growth and well-being. The report also shows how far some countries have gone in bridging the digital divide.

U.A.E. is ranked second in the Middle East, next to Qatar, in the global "networked readiness index", but it is ahead of other European countries, including Italy and France.

"The country's visionary ICT leadership and a determination to adopt a cutting-edge strategy is enabling it to adapt to pressing and ever-changing ICT trends, whether it is the surging growth of big data, or the increasing pervasiveness of technologies in areas such as cloud computing and mobility," added Dabboussi.

The report found that the U.A.E.'s improved ranking is due to improvements in its ICT infrastructure (where it ranked 30th) and ICT uptake by individuals (29th), both of which have resulted in positive associated economic impacts (27th).

Cisco says the momentum is fuelled by a strong government ICT vision (which is once again ranked as the best in the world), which is reflected in the already high and rapidly increasing levels of ICT uptake across all stakeholders. 85 percent of its population use the Internet (14th) and have access to a personal computer at home (18th); government services are largely available online (9th) and e-commerce is relatively well established (20th).

Published under the theme "Rewards and Risks of Big Data", the GITR's NRI is the result of a long-standing partnership between the World Economic Forum and INSEAD, and, since last year, with the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University.









 

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