December 2nd, 2016, is a day that embodies the Spirit of the Union and celebrates 45 years of great achievements since the federation was established in 1971.
The course of celebration was first announced by the founding President of the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and his fellow founding fathers of the UAE Federation. This same course is now followed by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, who continues to lead the nation’s march to progress and prosperity.
The incredible achievements of the UAE in recent years have been made possible due to the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, as well as His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and their fellow members of the Supreme Council and Rulers of the Emirates, who have consistently contributed to promoting and developing the state through knowledge and innovation. The UAE today ranks among the world’s leading destinations across several key indicators and has become a true role model for countries around the world.
The nation enjoys a distinguished position in the Arab world and beyond due to its significant achievements in various fields and its strong presence in political, diplomatic, economic and humanitarian fields at regional and international levels. The UAE has always been dynamic and proactive in communicating with other countries and building bridges of close cooperation and strategic partnerships to lead the way in political, economic, commercial, industrial, technological, scientific, educational, health and other fields.
Despite the current situation in the region, in 2016 exceptional strides were made in infrastructure, the fields of energy, space, information technology, telecommunications and other vital areas, as well as the environment and sustainability, which have all significantly contributed to modernising the UAE and enabling the country to achieve top international rankings.
The UAE has maintained its position as the leading Arab country for the fourth year in a row in the latest World Bank report on the Ease of Doing Business, and now ranks 26th globally in the same report.
The UAE is also ranked the top Arab country for well-being and life satisfaction according to the Legatum Prosperity Index. The report also revealed that the UAE is among the top countries for safety and security and economic quality, and ranks 41st worldwide.
The annual Prosperity Index ranks 142 countries across eight categories: the Economy, Entrepreneurship and Opportunity, Governance, Education, Health, Safety and Security, Personal Freedom and Social Capital.
The country has been ranked high on many global competitiveness indicators. The 2016 report by the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority reveals that the UAE ranked first regionally and 16th globally, maintaining its lead among the top 20 competitive economies in the world, according to the recent version of the Global Competitiveness Report 2016 issued by the World Economic Forum (Davos) in Switzerland.
The report monitors annual performance and competitiveness of the economies of countries in terms of strength, weakness, impact on quality of life, prosperity and the well-being of people.
Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashimi, Minister of State for International Cooperation and Chairperson of the Board of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority, said that the UAE positions itself on the world stage thanks to the efforts of the federal and local taskforces who are working as one team under one vision for 2021.
This year’s report surveys the economies of 138 countries rated through 114 performance indexes and in 12 basic axis, including institutions, infrastructure, education, health, innovation, efficiency of the labour market and other topics. Evaluation is based on statistics and data from participating countries in the report in terms of opinion polls and surveys on executives and major investors in those countries.
The UAE was ranked in the top 10 positions globally in three basic themes in the report. It is also among the top 20 countries globally in half of these axes. The UAE came in third place globally in the list of efficient goods market, which is the sign of success of the diversification policy of the economy in the state, clarity of vision and strategic plans on the performance and efficiency of the business market.
It also came in fourth place globally in the infrastructure hub, an indication of activity in infrastructural projects across the country and its role in supporting the UAE economy in all areas and sectors, making it an attractive environment for investment and business at the regional and global level.
The UAE was ranked first globally in the absence of impact of crime and violence at work index, and second place globally in the people’s trust in the leadership and lack of wasteful government spending indexes.
The UAE ranked in third place globally in the efficient government index. This reflects the success of the leadership strategy and steps taken toward achieving the high performance and efficiency in the government work at the federal and local levels to ensure the happiness of citizens and residents and well-being on the territory of the state.
On infrastructure, the UAE took first place globally in the road quality index and second place globally in the airport infrastructure and means of air transport quality index. It also came in the third place globally in the seaport infrastructure quality and rate of mobile phone subscriptions per 100 users indexes. The UAE ranked in fourth place in the global index of quality of infrastructure and fifth in the index of number of airline seats available for each million passengers a week.
This performance reflects the huge investments made by the state to develop and improve the infrastructure in terms of extending road networks, building new airports and the expansion of existing airports, and the development of seaports.
The UAE ranked first globally in the lack of impact of taxes on investment index, and second place globally on the lack of the tax impact on the labour market and the ability of the state to attract international skills indexes. The UAE also came in third place in the global index of lack of tariff barriers and the ability of the state to retain world skills.
On the readiness of the technology sector, the maturity of the business sector, and higher education and training areas, the UAE achieved first position globally in the index of government spending on new technologies, second place globally in the index of provision of specialised trade zones (free zones), and third place in the global index of foreign direct investment and technology transfer to the state. The state was also ranked fourth globally in the index of internet connection to schools and universities, and fifth place in the global index of availability of scientists and engineers in the state.
The Global Competitiveness Report issued by the World Economic Forum (Davos) in Switzerland, is one of the world’s most important reports and aims to help countries around the world to identify obstacles to sustainable economic growth and development of strategies to reduce poverty and increase prosperity. It assesses the countries abilities to provide high levels of prosperity and well-being of their citizens. The report also provides a comprehensive assessment of the strengths and challenges facing the economies of countries.
