The UAE has climbed the ranks to become the Middle East's most globalised country, thanks to its position as a trade hub, flows of foreign investment, the high number of tourists and its large expatriate population, a report by DHL and NYU Stern School of Business reveals.
The Arab world's second largest economy rose two notches in 2021 to rank fourth globally out of 169 countries, after the Netherlands, Singapore and Belgium, in the 10th DHL Global Connectedness Index compiled by DHL and the NYU.
The UAE is among five countries, including Mexico, the Netherlands, Sierra Leone and Vietnam, that have stood out for their strong or rising global connectedness over the past two decades, according to the index.
“Looking at the Middle East, the UAE’s pre-eminent position as the most globalised nation in the region is an outcome of economic development strategies that aggressively pursued growth via globalisation, strongly supported by the private sector and public,” Amadou Diallo, chief executive of DHL Global Forwarding for the Middle East and Africa, said on Wednesday.
The UAE's economy continues to recover from the pandemic-driven slowdown, aided by Dh388 billion ($105.65bn) worth of economic support measures. Government initiatives, including visas for expatriate retirees and the expansion of the 10-year golden visa scheme to encourage foreign professionals to settle in the country, have also helped to improve investment sentiment.
The country reaped the dividends of investment over the past two decades in its infrastructure and embracing of technology that helped it adapt and weather the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, Expo 2020 has been attracting a large number of visitors since the world's fair opened on October 1. More than 6.3 million visitors had visited the Expo site by December 13, according to official data.
The DHL Global Connectedness Index measures globalisation based on four main pillars: the flows of international trade, capital, information and people. It tracks both the size of countries’ international flows relative to their domestic activity and their geographic reach around the world.
The UAE climbed the ranks driven by its high scores on the main pillars. The Middle East's finance and business hub scored 83 out of 100 on trade and 73 out of 100 on both information flows and people flows.
The UAE became the Middle East's most globalised country, ahead of Qatar in 31st place, Bahrain in 39th, Saudi Arabia in 42nd, Lebanon in 54th, Kuwait in 56th and Jordan in 61st position.
The shock of the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a “modest” decline in global connectedness in 2020, followed by clear signs of recovery in 2021, according to the report findings.
“Covid-19 has not caused globalisation to collapse,” the authors of the report said. “Trade in goods has surged to well above pre-pandemic levels, powerfully supporting the global recovery even as capacity challenges and trade tensions persist.”
The global health crisis dealt “a major blow” to international capital flows, but portfolio equity flows stabilised in mid-2020 and foreign direct investment rebounded sharply in 2021, the report said.
The pandemic, which paralysed the global aviation industry, hit the international movement of people the hardest, and they are on track to recover the slowest, the report showed. International travel remained more than 80 per cent down in the first half of 2021.
The world’s poorest countries are falling behind in the globalisation recovery, the DHL and NYU study showed, with their trade and FDI flows still below pre-pandemic levels in the first half of 2021.
“Stronger global connectedness could accelerate the world’s recovery from Covid-19,” the report authors said. “Vulnerabilities highlighted by the pandemic should be addressed for a more prosperous and resilient future.”
The beauty of the UAE - in pic
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Evacuations to France hit by controversy
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- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
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The years Ramadan fell in May
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
RESULTS
Manchester United 2
Anthony Martial 30'
Scott McTominay 90 6'
Manchester City 0
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
![Dhows unloading and loading items by Deira's Spice Market. For many people, the creek [Khor] with its dhow moorings, Abra water taxis and souks is the very essence of the old city. For decades, Dubai Creek has been a hive of activity as traders bring in goods and sell their wares at the bustling markets nearby. Reem Mohammed / The National](https://www.thenationalnews.com/resizer/v2/KEXFIXNLJZHH3KGEPXT2OJHHE4.JPG?smart=true&auth=8cda71612b34d179086d0ed8fa2f55b764383e04b3e643225cfbf9be77017b5e&width=800&height=450)
