From the editor's desk
The Business Year returns, in partnership with Parsons, the UAE Ministry of Economy, and the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED), to offer insights into the process and progress of Abu Dhabi’s journey through COVID-19. The story of Abu Dhabi’s experience throughout the global health crisis is one characterized by the theme of this special report: resilience. In contrast to the carnage the virus wrought upon other regions of the world, the Emirate reacted quickly and, in alignment with the rest of the UAE, applied and integrated the many protocols the world has come to be familiar with in the past year.
This special report seeks to shed light on the main strategies used by decision makers across Abu Dhabi’s key sectors, as well as bring to the fore the experiences that contextualize the Emirate’s wider capacity to navigate the pandemic and bounce back stronger.
The responsiveness of the policies and the clarity in relaying the message has “helped people take the situation seriously without panicking,” noted Salem Bin Ashour, General Manager of BP’s Abu Dhabi operations. Maturity in managing the crisis and clear coordination between the government and the private and public sectors have been instrumental. These may seem like easy words that ought to be obvious in times of crisis, yet Abu Dhabi’s experience is genuinely exemplary in comparison to other countries struggling with the same problem: there have been fewer than 1,000 COVID-19-related deaths in the UAE.
If ever a silver lining were to be found in the midst of the crisis, it is in the acceleration of digitalization, which has spurred almost every sector. From streamlining e-checks and card payments in the financial sector to telemedicine in health and the edtech boom, the impact of digitalization has achieved in a matter of months what would otherwise have taken years.
There is hope that similar scope may be found in Abu Dhabi’s efforts to push forward with its plans to diversify the economy away from reliance on hydrocarbons. Ideas around “greening” the recovery from the pandemic are taking root, and already Abu Dhabi has planned the construction of what will be the world’s largest solar power plant. With such ambitions, new and exciting frontiers for investment opportunities will soon follow. In the preparation of this report, we also had the pleasure of sitting down with Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy, for an exchange of views on the current economic situation of the UAE economy. Commenting on the fine position the UAE finds itself in, the minister remarked that the UAE would aim to double its GDP over the next 10 years. Elsewhere, Undersecretary of ADDED Rashed Al Balooshi told us that, " We have a clear strategy to have an econ-omy that is based on knowledge and sustainability." All told, as Abu Dhabi now turns its focus to life post-pandemic, it can take pride in its actions over the course of the crisis, developing the tools and experiences that will ensure even greater resiliency for whichever challenge, big or small, comes knocking next.