4.38 PM Thursday, 28 March 2024
  • City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
  • Dubai 04:57 06:11 12:27 15:53 18:37 19:51
28 March 2024

UAE 12th most competitive nation globally

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (File)

Published
By Wam

- World Economic Forum: UAE has made remarkable progress in 78 sub-indicators in one year

- UAE ranks first for absence of inflation and absence of organised crime globally

- UAE is second for effectiveness of government spending and third in terms of absence of government bureaucracy

- It also rated as having the third-best infrastructure in the world

- UAE is the 12th most competitive nation globally ahead of developed economies such as Canada, Denmark and South Korea.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, affirms that the UAE under the leadership of the President 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 UAE 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 UAE 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.

UAE impressively leads globally on 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 UAE 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, UAE ranked 3rd globally for attracting professional talent.

Overall, the UAE improved its performance in 78 indicators out of 114.

Hard work

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum further commented that the UAE 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 UAE showed significant success in all overarching pillars of the report, over the last year. It ranked 2nd, 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, labor market, financial market and technological readiness, the UAE 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 UAE 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.

First in Mena

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 UAE.

The UAE 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 UAE is among the safest places to do business, not just in the Middle East, but indeed, internationally.

UAE's 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 country.

This is complemented by the generally high degree of trust in government and safety and security in the UAE. Together these attributes have given UAE a competitive advantage over most other countries.