UAE Celebrates 46 Years of Great Achievements
The United Arab Emirates commemorates its 46th National Day on December 2nd, a day that embodies the very Spirit of the Union and inspires the nation to celebrate 46 years of great achievements since the federation of the seven emirates was established in 1971.
The pattern of celebrating the country’s National Day was initiated by the founding President of the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and his fellow founding fathers of the UAE Federation. That course is now followed by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who continues to lead the nation’s march to progress and prosperity.
The achievements of the UAE over the years since the passing of Sheikh Zayed in 2004 have been made possible due to the directives and encouragement of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, along with their fellow Members of the Supreme Council and Rulers of the Emirates, who have consistently contributed to promoting and developing the country through knowledge and innovation.
The UAE today ranks among the world’s leading countries across many key indicators, and is continuing to serve as a true role model for countries around the world.
The country has earned a leading place in the Arab world, and beyond, due to its significant achievements in various fields and its activities in the political, diplomatic, economic and humanitarian arenas at regional and international levels.
The Economy
During the course of the last year, the economy of the United Arab Emirates has continued to make steady progress, despite predictions of a slowdown in economic growth elsewhere in the region.
According to the UAE Vision 2021 plan, the creation and maintaining of a sustainable and diversified economy is a key component of future planning, and progress has continued to be made towards that objective. The intention is that, by 2021, the UAE will have an economy that is flexible in adopting new economic models and that is able to capitalise on global economic partnerships to guarantee long- term prosperity for current and future generations of Emiratis.
Developing a ‘competitive knowledge economy’ is one of the pillars of UAE National Agenda in line with Vision 2021. According to an official report by the Ministry of Economy, the government has continued in 2017 to focus on the UAE becoming the economic, tourist and commercial capital for more than two billion people. To achieve this, the Government has set 12 Key Performance Indicators: Non- oil real GDP growth, Gross National Income (GNI) per capita, Net Inflow of Fo r e i g n D i r e c t Investment as a percentage of G D P, Global Competitiveness Index, Share of UAE nationals in the workforce, Ease of Doing Business Index, Emiratisation Rate in the private sector, the contribution by Small and Medium Enterprises, SME’s, to nonoil G D P, Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index (GEDI), Global Innovation Index, Share of ‘knowledge workers’ in the labour force, and Research and Development expenditure as a percentage of GDP.
The UAE economy has been resilient despite the impact of fluctuating oil prices as it has benefited from a diversified economy, excellent infrastructure, political stability and ample foreign assets, according to the Institute of International Finance, IIF.
“Sentiment has improved with firmer oil prices. Non- oil activity has picked up modestly in 2017 as fiscal drag eases and consumption spending rises in the second half of 2017, ahead of the introduction of value- added tax, VAT, in 2018,” according to Garbis Iradian, Chief Economist Africa Middle East, IIF.
Recently-published figures in the Emirates NDB Purchasing Managers’ Index, PMI, increased from 55.1 in September 2017 to 55.9 in October. As a result, the index moved further above the 50- point threshold that separates expansion from contraction in the non-oil producing private sector.
Continued on Page 20