NEW YORK // The UAE remains one of the most investment-friendly countries in the region, according to an anti-corruption watchdog survey published yesterday.
The annual study from Transparency International, a Berlin-based monitoring organisation, awarded the Emirates a score of 6.3 out of a possible 10. The survey aggregates perceptions of public-sector corruption among business people and experts.
The only Gulf country to be ranked higher was Qatar with a score of 7.7 - an improvement from its 7.0-score last year. Qatar enhanced its position in the region, extending its lead over other Gulf nations in efforts to clean up graft in the public sector, according to Transparency.
The UAE and its Gulf neighbours of Oman (5.3), Bahrain (4.9), Saudi Arabia (4.7) and Kuwait (4.5) showed negligible shifts against last year's figures.
Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore are world leaders with scores of 9.3, while unstable Afghanistan and Myanmar (both scoring 1.4) and Somalia (1.1) trail at the bottom of the so-called Corruption Perceptions Index of 178 nations.
"Qatar has jumped from 7.0 to 7.7, marking an improvement in the perception of Qatari efforts to tackle corruption, and this is helped by the fact that Qatar is politically stable and economically prosperous," said Tamara Kamhawi, the watchdog's Riyadh-based analyst
Members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council have stepped up efforts to tackle public-sector corruption - from bribery of officials to procurement kickbacks and embezzlement of public funds, she said. But a lack of civil-society groups monitoring corruption across the region means that data on the full scale of the problem are scarce.
"Gulf countries have started tackling the problem of not having efficient laws, of training their work forces and raising awareness about the threat of corruption - especially when it comes to attracting investment to the Gulf," said Ms Kamhawi.
"I hope they maintain this level of raising awareness because there is still much to be done about implementing this in reality and enforcing the laws that are already in place to fight corruption and putting accountability systems in to practice."
Last month, the UN hosted the launch of the Pearl Initiative, an anti-corruption project for the Gulf, which will see volunteer business leaders from the region support an ethos of corporate responsibility, fighting graft and sharing more data about their firms.
Amir Dossal, executive director of the UN Office for Partnerships, which backs the scheme, said he hopes that support from the top levels of government and royalty will quickly begin to yield changes on the ground.
"The Gulf is a small region, where the dividing line between public and private is often quite blurred. So if you can mobilise public opinion and get leaders to look at the long-term benefits, then I am convinced that this initiative will be a real driver of change," Mr Dossal said.
The Pearl Initiative estimates that corruption costs the world's developing economies as much as US$60 billion (Dh220.3bn) each year.
Transparency International says that bribes and other forms of graft can see the cost of state construction and other projects raised by as much as 10 per cent; cartel price fixing saw consumers overcharged by about $300 billion globally between 1990 and 2005.
jreinl@thenational.ae
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
THE BIO
Mr Al Qassimi is 37 and lives in Dubai
He is a keen drummer and loves gardening
His favourite way to unwind is spending time with his two children and cooking
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
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- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
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Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets
Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets
Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs
Monday fixtures
UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain
Result
Qualifier: Islamabad United beat Karachi Kings by eight wickets
Fixtures
Tuesday, Lahore: Eliminator 1 - Peshawar Zalmi v Quetta Gladiators
Wednesday, Lahore: Eliminator 2 – Karachi Kings v Winner of Eliminator 1
Sunday, Karachi: Final – Islamabad United v Winner of Eliminator 2
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
