Abu Dhabi body to start new centre for research

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (DED) said yesterday it is launching a new research centre to support the emirate's 2030 development plan.

The Abu Dhabi Economic Research Agency (ADERA) is expected to come online next month in cooperation with the Statistics Centre to produce reports on monetary and economic policies and make recommendations to the government, DED undersecretary, Mohammad Abdullah, said.

"DED's initiatives are never launched just for fun," said Abdullah. "ADERA will provide advisory services for the decision makers."

Abdullah said a five-year budget for the agency has been put in place according to its development phases but declined to specify a figure.

Research conducted by ADERA will involve cooperation with its counterparts in countries such as the UK and Germany, with more agreements set to be signed next year, he added.

Among the issues expected to be raised by the agency is the government's determination to continue pegging the dirham to the dollar.

Danny Quah, director of international affairs at the UK's Economic and Social Research Council and a member of ADERA's steering committee, said a move away from the dollar peg needs to be considered by the UAE and other Gulf countries.

"Part of the continued global imbalance is the reliance on the US dollar," said Quah.

"De-pegging is essential for countries like the UAE. But this is only my opinion. A formal recommendation to the government will have to be based on deliberation of the issue among the researchers [at ADERA]."

Quah argued the global economic "centre of gravity" has been shifting from the West to Asian economies over the past 30 years and modern economic policy needs to be based on that movement.