Britain’s upcoming departure from the European Union will not affect the economy of the Arab region, UAE residents believe. However, a majority believe trade relations between the UK and the Arab world will suffer.
According to a survey recently conducted by the research division of international management consulting company Ventures Middle East, 82 per cent of the Arab population in the UAE believes that the Brexit vote will have no impact on the Arab region whatsoever. The survey was conducted in Arabic and carried out among 2,308 Arab respondents currently living in the UAE out of which 870 are local Emiratis.
The survey found that only 10 per cent of respondents believe that there will be an impact on the Arab region and of those, a whopping 77 per cent think this will be a negative impact on trading between Arab countries and the UK and 71 per cent think there will be a negative impact on Arabs investing in business in the UK. Surprisingly 87 per cent of Arabs who believe Brexit will have a negative impact on trade relations between Arab countries and the UK are local Emiratis.
From the segment of people who think there will be an impact on the Arab region, 57 per cent are millenials (those aged between 24-35 years old) who believe Brexit will make it difficult for students who wish to study in the UK. Additionally 51 per cent of millenials also believe that regulations resulting from the vote will make it difficult for Arabs who wish to emigrate to the UK.
60 per cent of Arabs who believe the vote will affect the Arab region think there will a negative impact on investing in real estate in the UK, and 42 per cent think there will a negative impact on the value of the British currency versus the US dollar, and on the British economy overall.
British Prime Minister Theresa May recently said she would trigger the process for the UK to leave the European Union by the end of March. The pound fell more than 1 per cent to $1.2841, its weakest since early July and not far from the 31-year low of $1.2798 hit on July 6, days after the June 23 referendum on EU membership.
“The Brexit vote has definitely been a hot topic for the past couple of months. The results of the survey show that the majority of Arabs in the UAE think Brexit will not affect the region, but of those who do, the sentiment seems to be that the vote will hinder relations between Arab nations and the UK”, says Ibrahim Gerges, Director of Market Research for Ventures Middle East. “However the real impact of Brexit on the Arab world remains an abstract until new regulations and trade agreements are put in place.”
– With inputs from agencies
