ABU DHABI, 22nd June, 2023 (WAM) — A local English newspaper said that the UAE economy had shown impressive flexibility, and the government provided conducive conditions by creating the necessary policy framework, encouraging innovation and out-of-the-box solutions for doing business. In an editorial on Thursday, Gulf Today said, “While the UAE continues to be the top economy in terms of competitiveness in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for the seventh year, it has also moved from the 12th position in 2022 to the 10th in 2023. The UAE ranked 5th in the index in 2019, and that remains the best score in the last four years. “In terms of peer group ranking in Europe, Middle East Africa, UAE stands sixth. Among the four criteria for competitiveness used by the Global Competitiveness Centre of the International Institute for Administrative Development (IMD) in Switzerland, in terms of economic performance, UAE stands fourth, it is at the 8th position on the government efficiency axis, 16th in terms of business efficiency and 26th on infrastructure. This is out of 64 countries.” His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, said, “Leading the world in the global trade axis and in several indicators as city management, energy infrastructure, the government’s ability to adapt to changes, the absence of bureaucracy and others. Its outstanding economic performance also ranked it fourth in the world.” “The UAE is one of the few countries that has shown tremendous resilience in the post-Covid period at a time when most of the large economies have been struggling to clock good enough growth rates,” the paper added. Thus, the UAE government became a facilitator rather than a direct participant in economic activity. The Global Competitive Index 2023 has also revealed that it is the smaller economies that have fared well in these times of global economic distress. And UAE is one of the smaller economies that has emerged successful along with the top three economies like Denmark, Ireland and Switzerland. Singapore was in the fourth position in terms of the overall ranking. “But the challenges remain, and as the Global Competitive Centre calls it a ‘polycrisis’, that is there is not just one crisis but many, and there is a need to respond to all of them to keep the economy on track,” the editorial continued. The Sharjah-based daily concluded by saying, “It has always been a moot point as to what should be the role of the state/government in a free market economy. But in the free market economies, the right policies serve as a stimulus to the economy. It seems the general experience is that in smaller economies like that of Denmark and UAE, the right policies seem to push the right buttons of the economy.”
Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)