UAE ranks first in region on Future Readiness Index
Grabs third spot among 27 emerging global economies
The UAE ranked the first Arab country, third among 27 emerging global economies, and 23rd globally among 123 countries in the Future Readiness Index report, issued by the Portulans Institute in partnership with Google.
The report aims to provide countries with a valuable tool to measure their future readiness, and serve as a guide to their strategy choices and policy decisions.
Results of the Future Readiness Index were announced during a virtual session titled “Innovative Tools to Improve a Digital Future”, held as part of the 11th edition of the Concordia Annual Summit 2021.
The session witnessed participation of Ohood Bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and The Future, along with Tan Kiat How, Minister of Communications and Information – Republic of Singapore; Kent Walker, Senior Vice President of Global Affairs – Google; Kate Wilson, CEO of Digital Impact Alliance at the United Nations Foundation; and moderated by Bruno Lanvin, Co-founder of the Portulans Institute.
Pressing challenges
Speakers highlighted the most pressing challenges and opportunities in the post Cocid-19 era, and the need to enhance readiness and agility of digital transformation through adopting modern technology, attracting and growing talent, and driving innovation.
Al Roumi stressed that the UAE’s high performance on the future readiness indicators reflects the ambitious vision and philosophy of the UAE’s leadership to prepare for the future and embrace innovation as the cornerstone of comprehensive development. Accelerating digital transformation has played a critical role in ensuring business and services continuity amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, providing a new array of innovative services, she added.
The report commended the UAE’s performance on the future readiness indicators, where it ranked third among 27 emerging economies representing the best performance on the overall index.
The index measures four main pillars namely, institutions and infrastructure, technology, talent, and innovation.