Dubai: President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Thursday praised the achievement of UAE government departments in bringing home international recognition for government efficiency.
The UAE becomes the most competitive Arab country in the world while it leaped to 8th position in the global competitiveness ranking by the International Institute of Management Development (IMD) Switzerland.
Shaikh Khalifa said that the UAE is reaping the awards of empowerment by achieving international recognition thanks to its wise vision and policies, government excellence, and the efforts of UAE citizens.
“The UAE has achieved international recognition of its economic, political, and management capabilities, the leisure, comfort and optimism of its citizens,” said Shaikh Khalifa, who extended his congratulations on this achievement to the people of the UAE, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Their Highnesses Supreme Council Members and Rulers of the Emirates.
“On this day, we remember with great appreciation the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and his brothers, the founding fathers of the UAE. We all feel that the seeds sown by our founding fathers, and cared for by their sons and grandchildren, have helped realise this remarkable achievements,” said Shaikh Khalifa.
“The UAE was ranked first globally in government efficiency, social cohesion and attitudes and values, fifth in employment and sixth in management practices. The UAE also made remarkable progress in 19 different indexes, classifying it as one of the top 10 competitive nations in the world,” Shakih Khalifa said in a statement.
The UAE government is planning a number of development initiatives that will enhance its competitiveness, Shaikh Mohammad announced. “We have a number of major development surprises that we will reveal over the coming two years. It will impress the entire world and takes the UAE to whole new levels,” Shaikh Mohammad said yesterday.
The main drivers of UAE’s improved rankings in global competitiveness include impressive advances in all the major quadrants measured by the report — economic performance, where UAE moved up 7 ranks to become forth (4th) globally, business efficiency which UAE is currently ranked ninth (9th) globally after an impressive ten spots jump from 2012 ranking.
Shaikh Mohammad said, “I am very optimistic about our future, confident in our people, and we will keep the hard work going. Our goal is and will always be the prosperity of the UAE people.”
mGovernment initiative to boost efficiency
Shaikh Mohammad has recently announced the development of m-government – to channelise all government services through mobile phones – a process that has already started. Once implemented, people could access government department services while on the move and boost the government’s efficiency in service delivery as well as enhance competitiveness further.
Abdullah Lootah, Secretary General of Emirates Competitiveness Council, told Gulf News that the UAE’s position has risen by 20 ranks during the last two years. The improvement is driven by a number of factors, including the UAE’s strong economic performance in the past several years.
“Government efficiency is an important factor in driving UAE’s competitiveness. The performance of the business environment, coupled a strong economic results in greater of on-the-ground confidence among business executives,” he said.
The UAE has made great progress on economic diversification, but cannot afford to slacken the pace, according to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW).
Peter Beynon, Regional Director, ICAEW Middle East, said, ”The UAE has seen great leaps forward in diversification, with financial services, first class infrastructure, and tourism all delivering economic growth that is not directly reliant on oil. However, more investment is needed in ‘human capital’; ensuring the growing population has the skills needed to grow the economy and to attract people to do business here. The private sector must be allowed to flourish in order to make sure that growth is sustainable in the longer term.”
UAE – the second biggest Arab economy – with a gross domestic product of $373.9 billion (Dh1.37 trillion) – is also ranked 29th in the world in terms of its size. However, with a population of 8.48 million – that translates to a per capita GDP of $46,596 (Dh171,000) – the country ranks 8th in terms of per capita GDP on purchasing power parity basis.
“The improvement in UAE’s competitiveness ranking will further underscore the position of the UAE as an attractive destination for business,” Dr Giyas Gokkent, Chief Economist at National Bank of Abu Dhabi, told Gulf News.
