UAE 12th most competitive nation this year
COUNTRY ADVANCING DRAMATICALLY ACROSS DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS, MOHAMMAD SAYS
DUBAI
The World Economic Forum named the UAE the 12th most competitive nation globally for 2014- 15, a jump of seven ranks from last year. That ranking puts it ahead of countries such as Canada, Denmark and South Korea. The nation also leads all the Middle East and North African ( Mena) countries.
The UAE ranks first globally for the absence of inflation and the absence of organised crime, second for the effectiveness of government spending and third in terms of absence of bureaucracy. The country is also rated as having the third best infrastructure in the world. According to the report, the UAE has made a remarkable progress in 78 sub- indicators in just one year.
Following the report, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said in a statement: “The UAE, under the leadership of President His Highness Shaikh 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.”
Shaikh Mohammad added that the UAE Government is constantly monitoring these global indicators issued by reputable international organisations. “Retreating is not an option in our government.”
He said: “Despite the many challenges facing our region, our main focus has been, and will remain on progress in our nation and developing our economy for the ongoing welfare of our citizens. Our message to those around us is that the key to true stability lies in the creation of real development.” He said 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 year 2021.
Minister of State and Chairwoman of the Emirates Competitiveness Council ( ECC), Reem Bint Ebrahim Al Hashemi, commended the efforts by federal and local government organisations that helped make the UAE the 12th most competitive nation in the world.
She said efforts by various government teams ledtothesignificant improvement in results of competitiveness indicators, with quality of the country’s public institutions climbing four ranks from last year to become seventh globally.
“This report is an international testimony to the UAE’s global lead and position among the world’s most advanced and innovative countries and this could have not been achieved without the vision of our leadership who aspires to realise the ultimate goal of the UAE Vision 2021 of making UAE the best country in the world by 2021,” she said.
She added: “I thank all individual and organisations who contributed in supporting the UAE’s competitiveness, as well as the teams in different government institutions. All government institutions deserve to be commended for working together to achieve this remarkable result.”
Abdullah Lootah, ECC Secretary General, said the surge in the country’s ranking year by year comeswith more challenges tomaintain this lead.
Lootah underlined the important role of the private sector in improving the country’s competitiveness rankings.
In the WEF report, the UAE also was ranked second globally for government procurement of advanced technology, for the effectiveness of government spending, and for the impact of taxes on investment and the lack of trade barriers. It also ranks second for the quality of its infrastructure in the aviation sector.
The UAE ranked third 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.
The UAE showed significant success in all indicators. It ranked 2nd in Basic Requirements, up from 4th 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, labour market, financial market and technological readiness, the UAE ranked 14th globally up from 20th, and 21st up from 24th in Innovation and Sophistication.