uae booklet 2009

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UAE AT A GLANCE

2009



UAE at a

Glance2009



Undertaken with the support and assistance o the National Media Council. This book

orms part o a multimedia publishing programme involving publication o the UAE

Yearbook in English, French and Arabic printed and electronic editions; management o

UAE Interact (www.uaeinteract.com), which contains news updates linked to pages o

the Yearbook; publication o UAE at a Glance, which summarises main data on the UAE;

and production o a DVD containing lms and e-books on the UAE.

The publishers wish to acknowledge and thank the National Media Council or their

valuable encouragement and support or this multiaceted project.

Editor: Paula Vine

Associate Editors: Ibrahim Al Abed, Peter Hellyer, Peter Vine

Text copyright ©2009: Trident Press

Photographs ©: Emirates News Agency (WAM), Trident Press Ltd, The National, Gul

News, Getty Images, Hanne & Jens Eriksen, Photolibrary, Frederic Froger, Fotosearch,

Grapheast, Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council, BP Photographic Archives, Peter Vine

English edition design and typesetting: Noel MannionLayout copyright ©2009: Trident Press

This book contains inormation available at the time o printing. Whilst every eort

has been taken to achieve accuracy, the publishers cannot accept any liability or

consequences arising rom the use o inormation contained in this book.

Statistics are based on available sources and are not necessarily ocial or endorsed by

the UAE Government.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data : A CIP catalogue record or this book is

available rom the British Library.

ISBN: 1-905486-51-0

Published by Trident Press Ltd

175 Piccadilly, Mayair, London WIJ 9TB

Tel: 020 7491 8770

Fax: 020 7491 8664

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.tridentpress.com

For urther inormation please contact:

National Media Council

Abu Dhabi

United Arab Emirates

Tel: 009712 4452922

Fax: 009712 4450458

E-mail: [email protected]



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contents



factfilecoUntry Profile

The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven emirates (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah,

Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ra’s al-Khaimah and Fujairah) that was formed in 1971.

¢ Country name:

United Arab Emirates (UAE) or Dawlat al Imarat al Arabiyya al Muttahidah

¢ Capital: Abu Dhabi

¢ National Day: 2 December

¢ Time: four hours ahead of GMT

¢ Currency: Emirati dirham (Dh or AED)

¢ Exchange rate: Dh3.67 per US dollar. The UAE dirham has been o ciallypegged to the US dollar since February 2002.

¢ Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black with a wider

vertical red band on the hoist side

GeoGraPHy

Situated towards the south-east of the Arabian Peninsula, the UAE is a roughly

triangular landmass whose coastlines form the south and south-eastern shores of the Arabian Gulf and part of the western shores of the Gulf of Oman. The UAE thus

occupies a strategic location along southern approaches to the Straits of Hormuz.

The UAE also has land borders with Oman and Saudi Arabia.

¢ Latitude/Longitude: From 26.08˚ to 22.5˚N; 55.5˚ to 58.37˚E

¢ Area: approximately 82,880 square kilometres. Abu Dhabi accounts for 87 per

cent of the country’s total landmass.

¢Coastline: prior to construction of the ‘Dubai Palms’ and other schemes, thecoastline of the UAE was approximately 1318 kilometres. Land reclamation

projects are extending this gure so that the new coastline length is yet

to be dened.

¢ Climate: the UAE enjoys a desert climate, warm and sunny in winter, hot and

humid during the summer months. Average rainfall is 100mm annually although

it varies considerably across the country, with higher rainfall in the eastern

mountains, where it is also generally cooler.

¢ Topography: a low-lying coastal plain merges into the rolling sand dunes of the Rub al-Khali desert with rugged mountains along the UAE’s eastern border

with Oman and in the north.

¢ Elevation extremes: the country’s lowest point is at sea level and its highest

point is 1527 metres at Jebal Yibir.

¢ Natural resources: the UAE’s most important natural resources are oil and

natural gas, more than 90 per cent of which are located in Abu Dhabi.

Pg 4



factfile

Pg 5

federal Government

The UAE enjoys a high degree of political stability and is the only state in the Arab

world to have a working federal system that has stood the test of time.

¢ Political system:

a federation with specic areas of authority constitutionally assigned to the

UAE Federal Government and other powers reserved for member emirates.

¢ Constitution:

adopted provisionally on 2 December 1971, made permanent in 1996.

¢ The Federal Supreme Council (FSC):

the FSC, the highest constitutional authority in the UAE, has both legislativeand executive powers and is made up of the rulers of the seven emirates.

¢ President: HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler of Abu Dhabi

¢ Vice President & Prime Minister:

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai

¢ Deputy Prime Minister: HH Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan

¢ Deputy Prime Minister: HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan

The President and Vice President are elected by the Federal Supreme Council

for ve-year terms, while the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister areappointed by the President.

¢ Cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by Prime Minister, appointed

by the President

¢ Federal National Council (FNC): the FNC has both a legislative and

supervisory role. Its 40 members are drawn from each emirate, half of whom are

indirectly elected. 22.5% of FNC members are women.

¢ Federal judiciary: independent judiciary with the Federal Supreme Court at its

apex (judges are appointed by the Federal Supreme Council) and also includes

Courts of First Instance.

¢ Legal system: in addition to the federal court system introduced in 1971, all

emirates have secular courts to adjudicate criminal, civil, and commercial matters,

and Islamic courts to review family and religious disputes.

¢ Administrative divisions: each of the seven emirates has its own

government with respective municipalities and departments.

¢ Foreign policy:

the UAE’s foreign policy is derived from a set of guiding principles, amongst

which are a deep belief in the need for justice in international dealings between

states, including the necessity of adhering to the principle of non-interference in

the internal aairs of others and the pursuit, whenever possible, of peaceful

resolution of disputes, together with a support for international institutions, such

as the United Nations.



¢ Foreign aid: the UAE has provided over US$70 billion in loans, grants and

assistance for development projects in some 100 countries. The UAE has also

been a major contributor of emergency relief to regions aected by conict and

natural disasters both at a governmental level and through NGOs. such as the

UAE Red Crescent Society.

¢ International organisation participation: ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-

77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCT (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,

IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW,

OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

THE PEOPLEEmiratis are a tolerant, forward-looking people with a strong sense of tradition.

They enjoy a high standard of living, including well-developed education and health

services. Eorts are being made to develop human resources, eect the empowerment

of women and provide social welfare to the more vulnerable in society.

¢ Population: 4.488 (2007); 4.76 million (est. 2008); 5.06 million (est. 2009)

¢ Nationals: 864,000 (est. 2007)

¢ Non-nationals: 3.62 million (est. 2007)¢ Males: 3.08 million (est. 2007)

¢ Females: 1.4 million (est. 2007)

¢ Population under 15 years: 862,991 (est. 2007)

¢ Annual population growth rate: 6.31% (est. 2008–2009)

¢ National population growth rate: 3.4% (est. 2008–2009)

¢ Most populated emirate: Abu Dhabi with 1.493 million people (est. 2007)

¢ Least populated emirate: Umm al-Qaiwain with 52,000 inhabitants

¢ Language: Arabic

¢ Religion: Islam; practice of all religious beliefs is allowed.

¢ Life expectancy at birth: 78.5 years

¢ Under-five mortality rate: approx 8 per 1000 live births

¢ New-born (neonate) mortality: 5.54 per 1000

¢ Infant mortality rate: 7.7 per 1000

¢ Maternal mortality rate: 0.01 for every 100,000

¢ GDP per capita: Dh162,000 (2007)

¢ Percentage of women students at the UAE University: 75%

¢ Percentage of UAE women in labour force: approx. 30%

¢ School enrolment: 648,000 students in 1259 public and private schools

(2007/08), of which over half are female

¢ No. of government and private universities: approx. 60

¢ Illiteracy rate: 7%

factfile

Pg 6



¢ Social security: in 2008 the Government allocated over Dh2.2 billion in

nancial assistance to 16 vulnerable sections of society.

¢ UN Human Development Index ranking: 39 out of 177 countries (2008)

¢ Human rights conventions to which the country is a party:

International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination;

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; Convention on the

Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women; Convention on the

Rights of the Child; Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Person with

Disabilities; Signatory to the Arab Charter on Human Rights; United Nations

Convention against Transnational Organised Crime

¢Labour rights conventions to which the country is a party: Elimination of forced and compulsory labour – Convention 29; Elimination of

forced and compulsory labour – Convention 105; Elimination of discrimination

in respect of employment and occupation – Convention 111; Abolition of child

labour – Convention 138; Abolition of child labour – Convention 182

ECONOMY

The UAE has a vibrant free economy with a signicant annual trade surplus. Successful

eorts have been made to diversify away from dependence on oil and gas exports and a solid industrial base has been created together with a very strong services sector. The

establishment of free zones has been an important feature of this diversication policy

and reform of property laws has given a major boost to real estate and tourism sectors.

¢ Fiscal year: 1 January to 31 December

¢ GDP: Dh729.73 billion (2007, current prices)

¢ Real GDP growth rate: 5.2% (2007)

¢Non-oil sector contribution to nominal GDP: 64.1% (2007)

¢ Industries: oil & gas, petrochemicals, aluminium, cement, ceramics, ship repair,

pharmaceuticals, tourism, transport, real estate, nancial services

¢ Oil exports: 2.2 million barrels of crude oil per day, world’s third largest exporter

of crude oil

¢ Oil reserves: 97.8 billion barrels, sixth largest in the world, of which Abu Dhabi

holds 92.2 billion barrels or 94%

¢ Natural gas reserves: 6 trillion cubic metres, fth largest in the world

¢ Total exports FOB: Dh664.34 billion (est. 2007)

¢ Free-zone exports: Dh83.7 billion (est. 2007)

¢ Re-exports: Dh228.7 billion (est. 2007)

¢ Total Imports (FOB): Dh428.19 billion (2007)

¢ Value of oil exports: Dh261.42 billion

¢ Value of gas exports: Dh28.5 billion

¢ Weekend: Friday and Saturday for government institutions, many private

companies operate a six-day week

factfile

Pg 7



Pg 8

factfileINFRASTRUCTURE

Commercial and residential areas, tourist facilities and industrial zones are being

built on an unprecedented scale and corresponding investment is taking place inroad and rail networks, airports and ports, telecommunications, electricity and water

plants, hospitals and educational facilities. To date, the Government has invested

heavily in infrastructure development, but it has also opened up its utilities and other

infrastructure to greater private sector involvement, so much so that public-private

partnerships are now the norm.

¢ Telecommunications: thriving deregulated market, modern bre-optic

integrated services; digital network with highest mobile phone penetration

in the Arab world

¢ International country code: 971

¢ Internet country code: ae

¢ Fixed line penetration rate: 30%

¢ Mobile phone subscribers: 9.2 million (est. 2008)

¢ Internet subscribers: 1.15 million (est. 2008)

¢ Main Ports: Mina Zayed, Jebel Ali, Mina Rashid, Fujairah, Khor Fakkan, Mina

Saqr, Sharjah. Abu Dhabi is building a major new port, Khalifa Port & Industrial

Zone, at Taweelah

¢ International airports: 7

¢ Available electricity generating capacity: 16,670 MW (UAE, 2007)

¢ Electricity generating capacity Abu Dhabi: 8000 MW (2007)

¢ Electricity generating capacity Dubai: 5500 MW (2007)

¢ Annual peak demand forecast Abu Dhabi: 18,574 MW (2010)

¢ Water production Abu Dhabi: 626 MIGD (2007)¢ Water consumption: average of 550 litres per day



Pg 11

history and heritage‘He who does not know his past cannot make the best o

his present and uture, or it is rom the past that we learn.’

The UAE has a long history, recent finds in the Hajar

Mountains and in the Western Region o Abu Dhabi

having pushed the earliest evidence of man in the Emirates

back by hundreds o thousands o years, with a scatter o

small sites rom the Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age) period.

The earliest known human occupation or which there

is signicant evidence dates rom the Neolithic period,

6000 BC or 8000 years ago, when the climate was wetter

and ood resources abundant. Even at this early stage, thereis proo o interaction with the outside world, especially

with civilisations to the north. These contacts persisted

and became wide-ranging, probably motivated by trade

in copper rom the Hajar Mountains, commencing around

3000 BC as the climate became more arid and ortied oasis

communities ocused on agriculture.Foreign trade, the recurring moti in the history o this

strategic region, seems to have fourished also in later

periods, acilitated by domestication o the camel at the

end o the second millennium BC. At the same time, the

discovery o new irrigation techniques (alaj irrigation)



Pg 12

Uae at a Glance 2009

www.uaeinteract.com/history

made possible the extensive watering o agricultural areas that resulted in

an explosion o settlement in the region.

By the rst century AD overland caravan trac between Syria and cities in

southern Iraq, ollowed by seaborne travel to the important port o Omana

(perhaps present-day Umm al-Qaiwain) and thence to India was an alternative

to the Red Sea route used by the Romans. Pearls had been exploited in the

area or millennia but at this time the trade reached new heights. Seaaring

was also a mainstay and major airs were held at Dibba, bringing merchants

rom as ar aeld as China.The arrival o envoys rom the Prophet Muhammad in 630 AD heralded

the conversion o the region to Islam. By 637 AD Islamic armies were using

Jular (Ra’s al-Khaimah) as a staging post or the conquest o Iran. Over many

centuries, Jular became a wealthy port and pearling centre rom which great

wooden dhows ranged ar and wide across the Indian Ocean.

The Portuguese arrival in the Gul in the sixteenth century had bloody

consequences or the Arab residents o Jular and east coast ports like Dibba,

Bidiya, Khor Fakkan and Kalba. However, while European powers competed

or regional supremacy, a local power, the Qawasim, was gathering strength.

At the beginning o the nineteenth century the Qawasim had built up a eet

o over 60 large vessels and could put nearly 20,000 sailors to sea, eventually

provoking a British oensive to control the maritime trade routes between

the Gul and India.Inland, the arc o villages at Liwa were the ocus o economic and social

activity or the Bani Yas rom beore the sixteenth century. But by the early

1790s the town o Abu Dhabi had become such an important pearling centre

that the political leader o all the Bani Yas groups, the sheikh o the Al Bu Falah

(Al Nahyan amily) moved there rom the Liwa. Early in the nineteenth century,

members o the Al Bu Falasah, a branch o the Bani Yas, settled by the creek inDubai and established Maktoum rule in that emirate.

Following the deeat o the Qawasim in 1820, the British signed a series o

agreements with the sheikhs o the individual emirates that, later augmented

with treaties on preserving a maritime truce, resulted in the area becoming

known as ‘The Trucial States’.



Pg 13

History and HeritaGe

www.uaeinteract.com/history

The pearling industry thrived in the

relative calm at sea during the nineteenth

and early twentieth centuries, providing

both income and employment to the

people o the Arabian Gul coast. Many

o the inhabitants were semi-nomadic,

pearling in the summer months and

tending to their date gardens in the

winter. However, their meagre economicresources were soon to be dealt a heavy

blow. The First World War impacted

severely on the pearl shery, but it was

the economic depression o the late

1920s and early 1930s, coupled with

the Japanese invention o the cultured

pearl, that damaged it irreparably. The

industry eventually aded away just

ater the Second World War, when

the newly independent Government

o India imposed heavy taxation on

pearls imported rom the Gul. This was

catastrophic or the area. Despite theiradaptability and resourceulness, the

population aced considerable hardship

with little opportunity or education

and no roads or hospitals.

Fortunately, oil and the visionary

leadership o Sheikh Zayed bin SultanAl Nahyan were on the horizon. Born

around 1918 in Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed

was the youngest o the our sons o

Sheikh Sultan, Ruler o Abu Dhabi rom

1922 to 1926. As Sheikh Zayed grew

“Pearls had been

exploited in the area

for millennia but at thistime the trade reached

new heights”



Pg 14 www.uaeinteract.com/zayed

to manhood, he travelled widely throughout the country, gaining a deep

understanding o the land and o its people. In the early 1930s, when oil

company teams arrived to undertake preliminary geological surveys, he

obtained his rst exposure to the industry that was to make possible the

development o today.

In 1946, Sheikh Zayed was chosen as Ruler’s Representative in Abu Dhabi’s

Eastern Region, centred on Al Ain, 160 kilometres east o the island o Abu

Dhabi. He brought to his new task a rm belie in the values o consultationand consensus and his judgements‘ were distinguished by their acute

insights, wisdom and airness’.

The rst cargo o crude oil was exported rom Abu Dhabi in 1962. On

6 August 1966, Sheikh Zayed succeeded his elder brother as Ruler o Abu

Dhabi. He promptly increased contributions to the Trucial States Development

Fund and with revenues growing as oil production increased, Sheikh Zayedundertook a massive construction programme, building schools, housing,

hospitals and roads.

When Dubai’s oil exports commenced in 1969, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al

Maktoum, de facto Ruler o Dubai since 1939, was also able to use oil revenues

to improve the quality o lie o his people.



Federation

Pg 15


www.uaeinteract.com/zayed

At the beginning o 1968, when the British announced their intention o

withdrawing rom the Arabian Gul by the end o 1971, Sheikh Zayed acted

rapidly to initiate moves towards establishing closer ties between the emirates.

Along with Sheikh Rashid, who was to become Vice President and, later,

Prime Minister o the newly ormed state, Sheikh Zayed took the lead in

calling or a ederation that would include not only the seven emirates that

together made up the Trucial States, but also Qatar and Bahrain. Following a

period o negotiation, however, agreement was reached between the rulerso six o the emirates (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Fujairah, Umm al-Qaiwain

and Ajman) and the ederation to be known as the United Arab Emirates

(UAE) was ormally established on 2 December 1971 with Sheikh Zayed as

its President. The seventh emirate, Ra’s al-Khaimah, ormally acceded to the

new ederation on 10 February 1972.

Sheikh Zayed was successively re-elected as President at ve-year intervalsuntil his death 33 years later in November 2004.

The new state emerged at a time o political turmoil in the region. A couple

o days earlier, Iran had seized the islands o Greater and Lesser Tunb, part

o Ra’s al-Khaimah, and had landed troops on Abu Musa, part o Sharjah.

Foreign observers predicted that the UAE would survive only with diculty,



Pg 16



pointing to disputes with its neighbours and to the wide disparity between

the seven emirates. Sheikh Zayed was more optimistic and the predictions

o those early pessimists were shown to be unounded.

There is no doubt that the prosperity, harmony and modern development

that today characterises the UAE is due to a very great extent to the ormative

role played by Sheikh Zayed. During his years in Al Ain, Sheikh Zayed had

developed a vision o how the country should progress. He subsequently

spent over three and a hal decades making that vision a reality.

One oundation o Sheikh Zayed’s philosophy as a leader was that theresources o the country should be used to benet o the people. Under his

leadership society prospered and the country’s women accessed education

and came increasingly to play their part in political and economic lie.

Sheikh Zayed also believed in the need to preserve the traditional culture

o the people, in order to amiliarise the younger generation with the ways

o their ancestors. He was also a rm proponent o the conservation o theUAE’s environment, deriving this belie rom his own upbringing where a

sustainable use o resources required man to live in harmony with nature.

Sheikh Zayed imbibed the principles o Islam in his childhood and they

remained central to his belies throughout his lie. He rmly opposed those

who pervert the message o Islam to justiy harsh dogmas, intolerance and



Pg 17



terrorism. In his view, such an approach was not merely a perversion o the

message but is in direct contradiction o it.

Sheikh Zayed was also an eager advocate o tolerance and a better

understanding between those o dierent aiths and was an ardent advocate

o dialogue between Muslims and Christians.

In the realm o oreign policy, his rmly held belie in eschewing rhetoric in

the search or solutions led the UAE to adopt an approach o seeking to nd

compromises, and to avoid, wherever possible, a resort to the use o orce,

whether in the Arab arena or more widely. Under his leadership, the countrybecame a major donor o overseas aid, both or inrastructural development

and or humanitarian relie, whether provided through civilian channels or,

occasionally, by sending units o the UAE Armed Forces as international

peacekeepers, such as to Kosovo in the late 1990s.

The UAE, under his leadership, also showed its preparedness to ght to

deend justice, as was seen by its participation in the war to liberate Kuwaitrom occupation in 1990–1991.

Sheikh Zayed died in November 2004, being succeeded as the UAE’s

President and as Ruler o Abu Dhabi by his eldest son, HH Sheikh Khalia bin

Zayed Al Nahyan. The principles and philosophy he brought to government,

however, remain at the core o the state, and o its policies, today.



Pg 18


Evidence of extensive human occupation in UAE.

Occupation by skilled groups of herders using finely made stone

tools (so-called‘Arabian bifacial tradition’).

Hafit period – era of earliest collective burials first noted on the

lower slopes of Jebel Hafit in the interior of Abu Dhabi.

Umm al-Nar period – era of first oasis towns (e.g. at Hili, Tell

Abraq, Bidiya, Kalba) dominated by large, circular fortresses; burial of

the dead in round communal tombs; wide-ranging trade contact with Mesopotamia,

Iran, Indus Valley, Baluchistan, Bactria (Afghanistan); first intensive use of copper

resources of Hajar Mountains; area referred to as Magan in Mesopotamian sources.

Wadi Suq period and Late Bronze Age – an era which is characterised by fewer towns;

change in burial customs to long, generally narrow collective tombs; close ties toDilmun (Bahrain).

Iron Age – introduction of new irrigation technology in

the form of falaj (pl. aflaj ), subterranean galleries which

led water from mountain aquifers to lower-lying oases and

gardens; explosion of settlement; first use of iron; first

writing, using South Arabian alphabet; contacts with Assyrian

and Persian empires.

Mleiha period (or Late Pre-Islamic A–B) – flourishing town at Mleiha; beginnings of local coinage; far-flung imports from Greece (black-glazed pottery), South Arabia

(alabaster unguent jars); first use of the horse.

Ed-Dur period (or late Pre-Islamic C–D) – flourishing towns at ed-Dur and Mleiha;

extensive trade network along the Gulf linking up the Mediterranean, Syria and

Mesopotamia with India; imports include Roman glass, coinage, brass; massive

production of coinage by a ruler called Abi’el; first use of Aramaic in inscriptions from

ed-Dur and Mleiha.

Rise of the Sasanian dynasty in south-western Iran, conquest of most of eastern

Arabia.

Introduction of Christianity via contacts with south-western Iran and southern

Mesopotamia; establishment of monastery on Sir Bani Yas by Nestorian Christian

community; Sasanian garrisons in inner Oman and evidence for contact in the UAE

shown by coins and ceramics from Kush (Ra’s al-Khaimah), Umm al-Qaiwain and

Fujairah.

Arrival of envoys from the Prophet Muhammad;

conversion of the people to Islam.

Death of the Prophet Muhammad; outbreak of the riddamovement, a widespread rebellion against the teachings

of Islam; dispatch of Hudhayfah b. Mihsan by the Caliph

Abu Bakr to quell rebellion of Laqit b. Malik Dhu at-Tag at

Dibba; major battle at Dibba, collapse of the rebels.

c.5500 BC

5500–3000 BC

3000–2500 BC

2500–2000 BC

2000–l300 BC

1300–300 BC

300 BC–0

0–250 AD

240 AD

6th/7th cent. AD

630 AD

632 AD



Pg 19


Julfar used as staging post for Islamic invasion of Iran.

Julfar used as staging post for Abbasid invasion of Oman.

Buyids (Buwayhids) conquer south-eastern Arabia.

Geographer Yaqut mentions Julfar as a fertile town.

Close commercial contact between Northern Emirates and kingdom of Hormuz,

based on Jarun island in the Straits of Hormuz.

Portuguese circumnavigation of Cape of Good Hope by Vasco da Gama using Arab

navigational information.

Portuguese–Ottoman rivalry in the Gulf.

Venetian traveller Gasparo Balbi’s description of coast of UAE from Qatar to Ra’sal-Khaimah; mention of Portuguese fortress at Kalba; first mention of Bani Yas in

Abu Dhabi.

Description of the East Coast of the UAE by a Dutch mariner sailing in the Meerkat.

Growth of English trade in the Gulf ; increasing Anglo–Dutch rivalry.

Sharjah and most of Musandam and the UAE East Coast, all the way to Khor Fakkan,

under control of Qawasim according to Carsten Niebuhr, German surveyor

working with the King of Denmark’s scientific expedition.

Repeated English East India Company attacks on Qawasim navy.

General Treaty of Peace between British Government and sheikhs of Ra’s al-Khaimah,

Umm al-Qaiwain, Ajman, Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Survey of the Gulf resulting in the publication of the first accurate charts and maps

of the area.

Collapse of the natural pearl market; first agreements signed by rulers of Dubai,

Sharjah and Abu Dhabi for oil exploration.

Oil exploration agreements finalised in Ra’s al-Khaimah, Umm al-Qaiwain and Ajman.

First export of oil from Abu Dhabi.

British Government announced its intention to withdraw from

the Gulf region; discussions begin on formation of a federation

of the emirates.

First export of oil from Dubai.

Agreement reached amongst rulers of the emirates to form

a union.

Formation of the State of the United Arab Emirates.

Sheikh Zayed, 1st President of the UAE, died.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan elected as new President of

the UAE.

637 AD

892 AD

963 AD

c. 1220

14th–15th cent.

1498

16th cent.

1580

1666

1720s

1764

1800–1819

1820

1820–1864

1930s

1945–1951

1962

1968

1969

10 July 1971

2 Dec 1971

2 Nov 2004

3 Nov 2004



HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE



Pg 21

Government

Since the establishment o the ederation in 1971, the seven

emirates that comprise the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Abu

Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ra’s al-

Khaimah and Fujairah, have forged a distinct national identity

through consolidation o their ederal status and enjoy an

enviable degree o political stability.

The UAE’s constitutionally-based ederal system o

government includes the ollowing institutions: the

Supreme Council, the Council o Ministers, the Federal

National Council and the Federal Judiciary.

The Supreme Council, which is made up o the rulerso each constituent emirate, is the top policy-making

body in the state. It rea rms the existing President and

Vice President or elects new ones at ve-yearly intervals.

Sheikh Khalia bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler o Abu Dhabi,

was elected as President o the UAE on 3 November

2004. The current Vice President, Sheikh Mohammedbin Rashid Al Maktoum, also Prime Minister and Ruler

o Dubai, has held the post since 3 January 2006.

The Council o Ministers or Cabinet, headed by

the Prime Minister, is the executive authority or the

ederation. The UAE’s parliament, the Federal National

government ‘Unity, progress and prosperity’



Pg 22

Council, has both a legislative and supervisory role, its 40 seats allocated to

the individual emirates on the basis o population and size. Finally, the FederalJudiciary, whose independence is guaranteed by the Constitution, includes

the Supreme Court and the Courts o First Instance.

In addition, each o the seven emirates has its own local government, the

complexity o which diers according to the size and population o individual

emirates. Each ollows a general pattern o municipalities and departments.

The relationship between the ederal and local governments is laid down inthe Constitution, which allows or a degree o fexibility in the distribution o

authority. This relationship is evolving over time, dictated by administrative

requirements. However, traditional government still plays an important role

in the UAE, with the institution o the majlis (pl. majalis) maintaining a useul

unction in ensuring that the people have ree access to their rulers.

above: HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

UAE Vice President and Prime Minister

www.uaeinteract.com/governmentaairs



Pg 23

Government

SUPREME COUNCIL MEMBERS

¢ HH President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler of Abu Dhabi

¢ HH Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid

Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai

¢ HH Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah

¢ HH Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Ruler of Ra’s al-Khaimah

¢ HH Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Ruler of Fujairah

¢ HH Sheikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mu’alla, Ruler of Umm al-Qaiwain

¢ HH Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Ruler of Ajman

CROWN PRINCES

¢ HH General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince

of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces

¢ HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai

¢ HH Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy

Ruler of Sharjah

¢ HH Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy

Ruler of Ra’s al-Khaimah

¢ HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah

¢ HH Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Crown Prince of Ajman

¢ HH Sheikh Rashid bin Saud bin Rashid Al Mu’alla, Crown Prince of Umm al-Qaiwain

DEPUTIES OF THE RULERS

¢ HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai,

Minister of Finance and Industry

¢ HH Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai

¢ HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah

¢ HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Salim bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah

¢ HH Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Ra’s al-Khaimah

¢ HH Sheikh Hamad bin Saif Al Sharqi, Deputy Ruler of Fujairah

¢ HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Rashid Al Mu’alla, Deputy Ruler of Umm al-Qaiwain



Pg 24


Political DevelopmentsOver the course o the last three years, major steps have been taken, both at a

ederal and at a local level, in terms o reorming the structure o government

in order to make it more responsive to the needs o the country’s population

and to ensure that it is better equipped to cope with the challenges o

development in a manner that is in keeping with current best practices

in administration and the delivery o services, as well as being more cost-

eective. The strategy has been directed at a ederal level by President HH

Sheikh Khalia, and has been devised and guided at an executive level byVice President and Prime Minister, HH Sheikh Mohammed.

One major initial step in the process o reorm that was designed to

enhance public participation in government was the introduction o indirect

elections to the FNC. First announced by Sheikh Khalia in his statement on

National Day, 2 December 2005, it provided or hal o the FNC members or

each emirate to be elected by members o electoral colleges established by

each ruler, rather than being appointed by the ruler, as had previously been

the case. The elections were held in late 2006, seeing a respectably high

turnout and with one woman among the successul candidates. Once the

remaining seats or each emirate had been lled by nomination rom the

rulers, the new Federal National Council had nine women amongst its 40

members, representing about 22 per cent o the total, an indication o the

way in which the UAE’s women are expanding their participation in all levelso government and political society.

The system o indirect elections now in operation is perceived as being only

a rst stage in the reorming o the FNC’s role in government and constitutional

amendments agreed by the Federal Supreme Council in December 2008

granted the FNC new powers to debate oreign policy matters, including

the ratication o international treaties, extended the FNC’s term rom twoto our years and extended its annual session rom six to seven months.

Consideration is also being given to the introduction o an electoral process

at local level, although no timetable has yet been announced or this.

The President and Vice President have also overseen major reorms in the

structures o government in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, these being implemented




Pg 25

by the Executive Councils o each emirate, chaired respectively by HH Sheikh

Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince o Abu Dhabi, and by HH

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince o Dubai.The most important recent development was the ormal launching in early

2007 o a UAE Government Strategy or the years ahead, based upon the

National Programme unveiled by President HH Sheikh Khalia in December

2005. Drawn up ater extensive consultation between the ederal ministries,

as well as other bodies, the strategy was launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed

bin Rashid, who noted that it ‘sets the oundations or a new era o publicadministration’. Implementation o the strategy continued to make progress

in 2008, with one o the most important aspects being the enhancement o

collaboration between the ederal authorities and those in each emirate.

A separate policy agenda or Abu Dhabi was announced in August 2007,

covering that year and 2008. This included independent policy statements

above: HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Crown Prince o Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander o the UAE Armed Forces




Pg 26


providing details o plans in areas such as economy, energy, tourism, health,

education, labour, civil services, culture and heritage, ood control, urban

planning, transport, environment, health and saety, municipal aairs, police and

emergency services, electronic government, women, and legislative reorm.

The policy agenda was switly ollowed by the very detailed Plan Abu Dhabi

2030, covering the city o Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s ederal capital, and adjacent

areas. An Al Ain Plan 2030 quickly ollowed, while work began in late 2008 on

a new Plan 2030 or the Western Region o Abu Dhabi, now ocially called

Al Gharbia, in an eort to ensure that this large area receives its ull share o economic and social development.

Foreign Policy The oreign policy o the UAE is based upon a belie in the need or justice in

international dealings between states, including the necessity o adhering

to the principle o non-intererence in the internal aairs o others and the

pursuit, wherever possible, o peaceul resolutions o disputes, together with

a support or international institutions, such as the United Nations.

Within the Arabian Gul region, and in the broader Arab world, the UAE

has sought to enhance cooperation and to resolve disagreement through

dialogue. Thus one o the central eatures o the country’s oreign policy

has been the development o closer ties with its neighbours in the Arabian

Peninsula. The Arab Gul Cooperation Council (AGCC), grouping the UAE,

Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman, was ounded at a summit

conerence held in Abu Dhabi in May 1981, and has since become, with

strong UAE support, an eective and widely respected grouping.

In pursuit o its desire to work with other members o the international

community to promote the search or a just and lasting peace in the Middle

East, the UAE continued to urge other governments to become pro-activeon the issue throughout 2008. Leading UAE ocials, including the President,

the Vice President and the Foreign Minister, have held discussions, both in the

UAE and elsewhere, with other global leaders, on ways to revitalise the peace

process. The election o a new US President in November 2008 brought the

hope that a new approach might be adopted in Washington during 2009.

www.uaeinteract.com/oreignpolicy



Pg 27

Government

At the same time, the UAE requently rearmed its support or the

Palestinian people and or the Palestine Authority, while calling on the

Palestinians to unite so as to ace eectively the challenges beore them.

In particular, the UAE strongly condemned the Israeli attack on Gaza in

December 2008 and January 2009.

The UAE was an active participant in the decision o the March 2008 Arab

summit, held in Damascus, to continue to promote the initiative agreed by

an earlier Beirut summit as a practical and real solution to the Middle East

crisis, noting that it took into account the undamental actors that must beincluded in any settlement.

The UAE continued throughout 2008 to provide support to the Government

o Iraq. But this support was not conned simply to the political sphere. During

2008, the UAE was among the rst Arab countries to re-open its diplomatic

mission in Baghdad while in August, on the instructions o President HH

Sheikh Khalia, a decision was taken to write o debts and interest o over

US$7 billion owed by Iraq to the Emirates.

The UAE also continued to oer support to the Government o Lebanon and

the Foreign Minister attended the session o the Lebanese Parliament in May

during which the country’s new President was elected ater a long impasse.

During the year, no visible progress was made on resolving the long-

running dispute with neighbouring Iran on the question o the three UAE

islands o Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunb. Indeed, in August, the

UAE sent a letter o protest to the United Nations over a move by Iran to set

up two oces on Abu Musa in contravention o the 1971 Memorandum o

Understanding on the island.

At the end o October, however, ollowing an earlier visit to the UAE by

Iran’s President, the Foreign Minister visited Iran and signed a Memorandum

o Understanding with his Iranian colleague to establish a joint commissionbetween the two countries, which, it is hoped, may lead to some steps to

resolve the dispute.

The UAE has also continued to express concern about Iran’s nuclear power

programme, and has sought reassurances that the programme is or peaceul

purposes only.




Pg 28

Beyond the Arab world, the UAE has pursued a policy o seeking, wherever

possible, to build riendly relations with other nations on a bilateral basis.

Another important eature o UAE policy has been its support or international

bodies, like the UN and its various agencies, through which it seeks toreinorce the rule o international law, and to support the implementation

o internationally agreed conventions.

International relations have also been strengthened through conerences

attended by regional groupings o which the UAE is a member, such as a joint

meeting between Arab and Latin American states early in the year, ollowed

by another between Arab states and members o the European Union.In October, the UAE hosted the ourth in a series o Forums or the Future,

ollowing earlier meetings in Morocco, Bahrain and Jordan. Attended by

senior ocials rom throughout the Arab world, Turkey and members o the

G8 group o industrialised nations, the Forum ocused on ways o promoting

political and social progress in the region.

above let: HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al NahyanUAE Foreign Minister at the Forum or the Future conerence in Abu Dhabi




Pg 29

Government

The UAE also hosted a major conerence o parliamentarians rom the North

Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) or discussions on regional security.

During the year, there was the usual steady fow o high-ranking visitors

rom other countries to the Emirates, both rom within the Gul and Arab world,

and rom urther aeld. Senior UAE ocials, including President HH Sheikh

Khalia, Vice President HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and the Crown

Prince o Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander o the UAE Armed

Forces, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, made numerous visits abroad.

Throughout the year, the UAE continued to extend all possible support tothe international ght against terrorism, while emphasising the necessity both

o a clear denition o terrorism and o ensuring that terrorism perpetrated

by states should not be overlooked. Support has been oered to countries

suering rom terrorism, including collaboration in terms o exchanges o

inormation designed to help law enorcement authorities track down and

arrest suspects.

The UAE believes, however, that the prevailing climate o misunderstanding

between dierent aiths and cultures is used by terrorists and those who

harbour them. It rmly supports, thereore, the promotion o intercultural

and interaith dialogue.

The country took part in the Interaith Dialogue initiated during the year by

King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz o Saudi Arabia. Supreme Council member HH

Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi led the UAE delegation, which alsoincluded Foreign Minister HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to the

November 2008 conerence on ‘The Culture o Peace and Dialogue among

Religions and Cultures’ held at the United Nations in November. At the same

time, the UAE has continued to argue that there is a need or dierent cultures

to avoid acts that can urther deepen misunderstandings.

During 2008, the UAE signed or ratiied a number o internationalconventions. Among these were the Protocol to the Convention on the Rights

o Persons with Disabilities and preparations were nearing completion at the

end o the year or the signing o the Convention against Torture and Other

Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

It also signed the UN Convention or Suppression o Nuclear Terrorism,




Pg 30


as part o measures designed to ensure that its own programme to

develop peaceul uses o nuclear energy, within the guidelines o the

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), ully complied with all

applicable global agreements.

While specic political issues, naturally, attracted much attention during

2008, the UAE has continued to maintain its ocus on a range o topics with a

global relevance. Among these has been the issue o human tra cking, which

came to prominence early in 2008 with the holding o a special UN orum in

Vienna to launch the UN Global Initiative to Fight Tra cking, UN.GIFT. The UAE is working closely with international and regional law enorcement

agencies, as well as the authorities in other countries, to apprehend those

engaged in tra cking and the Government expended considerable eort

during 2008 in developing strategies with the source countries o migrant

labour to help to stamp out tra cking in the countries o origin. A conerence

o Labour Ministers rom source and host countries or migrant labour was

held in Abu Dhabi early in the year, at which an Abu Dhabi Declaration on

ways o regulating the fow o workers was agreed. This was ollowed in late

October by another major conerence in Manila, Philippines, attended by the

UAE Minister o Labour.

Another issue o global concern was economic in nature, rather than political,

ollowing the depression that hit the world like a tsunami in the latter part o

the year. While moving to ensure that, as ar as possible, the local economywas insulated, the Government moved to work with multilateral institutions

like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as well as on a bilateral basis, to

help to shore up the economies o the countries most seriously aected.

During the year, the United Arab Emirates established diplomatic relations

with Montenegro and Kosovo, two o the successor states to the ormer

Yugoslavia, continuing its active involvement in this area o south-easternEurope. UAE orces earlier took part in peace-keeping activities in Kosovo.

Foreign Aid Since the establishment o the UAE, the country has played an active role in

the provision o aid to developing countries and has been a major contributor

www.uaeinteract.com/aid



Pg 31

Government

o emergency relie to regions aected by confict and natural disasters.

The philosophy behind the aid policy is two-old – rst, a belie that help

or the needy is a duty incumbent on all Muslims and, second, that part o

the country’s wealth rom oil and gas should be devoted to helping other

countries which have been less well-endowed.

The main UAE governmental agency or oreign aid is the Abu Dhabi

Fund or Development (ADFD). Since its establishment in 1971, the ADFD

has provided over Dh12.6 billion (US$3.45 billion) in sot loans and grants to

countries around the world. In addition, the und also manages 61 loans andgrants provided directly by the Abu Dhabi government. Since 1971, these

have accounted or a urther Dh10 billion (US$2.72 billion), bringing the total

amount o the loans, grants and investments provided by the und or the

Abu Dhabi government, and managed by the und, to around Dh24 billion

(US$6.54 billion), covering 258 dierent projects in a total o 52 countries.

Other assistance has also been provided through commitments made

at various multilateral donor conerences. Between 1994 to mid-2008, or

example, around Dh15.4 billion (US$ 4.2 billion) has been provided or the

Palestinians, including, most recently, US$300 million pledged at a donor

conerence in Paris and an annual commitment o US$43 million to support

the Palestine National Authority.

The UAE Federal Government also participates in a number o other

multilateral aid-giving institutions, including the International DevelopmentAgency (IDA), and other bodies like the OPEC Fund or International

Development, the Arab Gul Fund or the UN (AGFUND), the Arab Bank

or Economic Development in Arica (BADEA), the Abu Dhabi-based Arab

Monetary Fund (AMF) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). In recent years,

however, increasing attention has been paid to various orms o humanitarian

aid, destined or those in need because o natural disasters or confict andor those in such poverty and urgent need that longer-term development

projects will, quite simply, not deliver help in time.

A key body in this process is the UAE Red Crescent Authority, chaired by the

country’s Deputy Prime Minister, HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Over the last ew years alone, the Red Crescent has spent over Dh2 billion




Pg 33

Government

(US$545 million) on relie operations in a total o 95 countries throughout the

globe, with a special emphasis on those in need in Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon,

Aghanistan, Sudan and the Horn o Arica countries.

Over the course o the last year, the UAE Red Crescent has continued

to be the country’s premier emergency relie agency, at least in terms o

the number o countries in which it operates, even though some o the

larger privately unded charitable oundations have disbursed more money.

During 2007, it provided a total o around Dh281 million (US$76.5 million)

in relie, humanitarian and development aid, 50 per cent higher than in theprevious year. Victims o natural disasters and armed conicts in 40 countries

beneted. In the rst hal o 2008, a urther Dh170.2 million (US$ 46.4 million)

was disbursed. It also handled the distribution and administration o unds

allocated by government and other private oundations, which amounted

to a substantially larger sum.

It now ranks in the top ten member organisations o the International

Committee o the Red Cross in terms o the amount o relie assistance

provided – an impressive achievement or a country as small as the Emirates.

Other partners include the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

the UN High Commission or Reugees, (UNHCR) the United Nations Children’s

Fund (UNICEF), the UN Oce or Coordination o Humanitarian Aairs (OCHA),

the United Nations Relie and Works Agency or Palestine Reugees in the

Near East (UNRWA), and the World Food Programme (WFP).A new initiative, The Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Fund or Reugee

Women, proposed by HH Sheikha Fatima, was launched during Ramadan

2008 by the UAE Red Crescent, acting in partnership with the Oce o the UN

High Commissioner or Reugees. This is specically designed to address the

needs o women and children displaced by confict and natural disasters.

The private humanitarian eorts o the UAE’s leading gures have also been

active during the course o the year. The Khalia bin Zayed Charity Foundation,

established by President HH Sheikh Khalia, made several major donations,

including Dh200 million (US$54.5 million dollars) to Aghanistan, to und

sustainable social, economic, health, educational and utilities projects and

Dh184 million (US$50 million) in emergency assistance or China, ollowing




Pg 34


the Sichuan earthquake. Other assistance included help in August or residents

o areas in Pakistan hit by foods, while in May, in a move designed to help

those suering rom the world shortage o wheat and consequent rising

prices, the President donated a million tonnes o wheat to Egypt and hal a

million tonnes to Yemen.

The Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation,

established by the ormer President, ocused its attention during 2008 on

projects inside the UAE, but still spent around 30 per cent o its budget

overseas. Over the last ew years, the oundation has spent nearly Dh1.25billion (US$340 million) on projects at home and abroad.

A lead in terms o generosity in giving has also been shown by Vice

President and Prime Minister HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid. His

Mohammed bin Rashid Charity and Humanitarian Foundation has provided

assistance or, amongst others, hospitals in Palestine and earthquake victims

in China and has also worked successully to encourage Dubai-based

institutions to donate lavishly to its projects.

Much more signicant are two initiatives taken in the last couple o years

by HH Sheikh Mohammed that are designed to have a global reach. In 2007,

he launched the Dubai Cares campaign, with the initial goal o providing

primary education to one million underprivileged children around the world.

With well over Dh1 billion (US$273 million) raised to support its work, within

its rst year o operations Dubai Cares had provided education to over

our million children in 13 countries across Arica and Asia, ar exceeding

its original targets.

This was ollowed in 2008 by another project, Noor Dubai (‘Light o

Dubai’). This initiative, which is being administered by the Dubai Health

Authority, is collaborating closely with the World Health Organisation (WHO),

the International Agency or the Prevention o Blindness (IAPB), Lions ClubInternational and Orbis to help at least one million people around the world

who are suering rom blindness and eye disease.

It is not possible in a summary o a year’s events to give ull details o

the extensive humanitarian assistance provided by all public and private

bodies and by individuals, both UAE citizens and expatriates, throughout




Pg 35

the Emirates. In response to the need to synchronise these eorts more

eectively, a new body was set up during 2008 to co-ordinate the country’s

many relie programmes and enable quicker intervention. The External Aid

Liaison Bureau, which was established in collaboration with the UN Oce

or the Coordination o Humanitarian Aairs (OCHA), is also chaired by HH

Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed. The long-term objective is to see the unicationo all humanitarian aid and assistance being provided by the UAE, and to ully

document the country’s contributions to humanitarian projects worldwide.

The aid programme, Sheikh Hamdan has stressed, is designed to help all

those in need as a result o natural or man-made disasters, irrespective o

their geographical, religious and racial aliations.




Pg 37

In 1971, the year o the UAE’s ormation, the country’s GDP,

a measure o the total market value o all final goods and

services produced within the country in a single year, was

Dh6.5 billion. Thirty-seven years later it stood at around Dh753

billion, a multiple o 115 times its first year’s perormance! By any set of criteria that is very significant. But past growth rates

are unlikely to continue indefinitely. Instead, the UAE economy

is maturing and stabilising.

The UAE’s real GDP percentage growth rates, year-on-year

rom 2004 to 2008 were 7.4, 8.2, 11.5, 5.2, and 7.5 per cent.Meanwhile, the projected growth rate or 2009 is around

3.5 per cent. As these gures indicate, despite the impact o

the global nancial crisis being elt throughout the region,

the UAE’s economy continues to expand and its nancial

undamentals remain sound. These are underpinned by

many years o prudent economic policy that have been

responsible or building up the country’s signicant assets,

savings and investments.

But, as the Governor o the Central Bank has been quick

to acknowledge, there is no doubt that the economy is in

‘slow-down’ mode with the property market re-scheduling

The economy ‘Diversification, growth and sustainability’



Pg 38 www.uaeinteract.com/economicdevelopment

some major projects and the banking sector reining in its lending activities,

at least or a while. However, ‘slow down’ is regarded by many as a positive

phenomenon and is valued as much or the opportunities it brings as the

challenges it presents.

Fears o nancial meltdown have been allayed by the UAE Government,

which has been playing a crucial role in mitigating the eects o the crisis

and stimulating recovery. Certainly, the Government wants to achieve

continued growth and its monetary policy remains expansionary, but the

percentage rise in GDP does not need to be in double digits, nor indeed

in high single digits. The aim is to keep moving orward and to achieve

balanced economic growth.Not only has the slow down encouraged the property development

sector to take stock o decisions made at a time o rampant growth and

surging ination, it has also resulted in the stabilisation or reduction o prices

or many essential building materials, such as steel and cement, that had

rocketed in 2007 and the rst hal o 2008. And while the all in uel prices

has implications or the UAE budget, it also brings a reprieve or consumerswho were acing uel surcharges on all orms o transport – involving both

people and goods. Instead o being discouraged by the economic downturn,

UAE government departments are more ocused on locking in the savings

that can be achieved on undertaking major inrastructural projects in a less

rantic economic climate.



Pg 39www.uaeinteract.com/economicdevelopment

By August 2008 it was also clear that UAE banks would be aected by signs

o cooling in the property sector. Prior to this, UAE banks had experienced

strong prot growth in recent years and the UAE banking sector had enjoyed

an extremely active year in 2007 with the aggregated balance sheet o banks

operating in the UAE increasing by 42.3 per cent.

The UAE Government is making eorts to ensure that the over-heated

credit market does not get out o control in uture and has brought in more

stringent guidelines or lending to both individuals and companies. UAE

banks are also reducing their exposure to oreign debt and in September

2008 the Central Bank and the Ministry o Finance launched an emergency

und aimed at ensuring the banking system remained stable in the tight

credit environment. In addition, the UAE Cabinet’s decision to guarantee

banking deposits helped to steady the markets. The Government also plans

to support low interest rates so that the economy can continue to fourish.

LIQUIDITY MEASURES

¢ 22/09/08 UAE sets up Dh50 billion emergency facility

for banks operating in the UAE¢ 08/10/08 Central Bank lowers its repo rate to 1.5% from 2.0%

¢ 12/10/08 UAE guarantees deposits of local banks and foreign

banks with core operations in UAE

¢ 14/10/08 UAE announces it will inject Dh70 billion into

banking system as long-term deposits



Pg 40


www.uaeinteract.com/economicdevelopment

2006 2007*Current Account Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132,375 . . . . . . . . . . . . .135,936

Trade Balance (FOB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211,302 . . . . . . . . . . . . .309,922

Total Exports of Hydrocarbon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257,442 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257,442

Oil Exports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213,372 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261,422

Petroleum Products Exports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20,000

Gas Exports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,075 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28,500

Total Goods Exports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104,518 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125,729

Free Zone Exports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75,286 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83,661

Other Exports 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,232 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42,068Re-Exports 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172,706 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228,694

Total Exports and Re-Exports (FOB) . . . . . . . . . . . . 534,666 . . . . . . . . . . . . .664,345

Total Imports (FOB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -323,364 . . . . . . . . . . . . -428,194

Total Imports (CIF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-367,459 . . . . . . . . . . . . -486,580

Other Imports 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -291,050 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-395,718

Free Zone Imports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-76,409 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-90,866

Services (NET) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -66,226 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -87,614

Travel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-14,157 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-19,174

Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -8,086 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -10,165

Government Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 115

Freight and Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -44,095 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -58,390

Investment Income (NET) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,400 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21,500

Banking System4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8,800 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8,150

Private Non-Banks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-600 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -1200

Enterprises of Public Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41,100Foreign Hydrocarbon Companies in UAE . . . . . . . . . .-20,800 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -26,550

Transfers (NET). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-30,101 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-34,111

Public Transfers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -2,025 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -2,159

Workers Transfers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-28,076 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -31952

1 Including estimates o other exports romall emirates.

2 Including re-exports o non-monetary gold.3 Including estimate o imports romall emirates and imports o non-monetary gold.

4 Central Bank and all banks.

* Adjustable gures and preliminary estimates

Source: Central Bank Annual Report, 2007

ESTIMATE OF UAE BALANCE OF PAYMENTS 2006–2007 (in millions o dirhams)




2006* 2007*

Capital and Financial Account (Net) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -58,987 . . . . . . . . .41,524

Capital Account 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .– . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .–

Financial Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-58,987. . . . . . . . . . . 41,524

Enterprise of Private Sector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87,593 . . . . . . . . . 217,324

Direct Investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7,030 . . . . . . . . . . . -1,400

Outward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-40,000 . . . . . . . . . .-53,500

Inward. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47,030 . . . . . . . . . . 52,100

Portfolio Investment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4,400 . . . . . . . . . . . .5,300

Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,563 . . . . . . . . . 178,324

Securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-12,715 . . . . . . . . . . . -1,157

Other Investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,278 . . . . . . . . . 179,481

Private Non-Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,600 . . . . . . . . . . 35,100

Enterprises of Public Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -146,580 . . . . . . . . -175,800

Net Errors and Omissions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-49,503 . . . . . . . . . . . .5,788

Overall Balance: Surplus (+) or Deficit (-) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23,885 . . . . . . . 183,238

Change in Reserves (- indicates an increase) . . . . . . . . . . . -23,885 . . . . . . .-183,238

Net Foreign Assets with Central Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-24,034 . . . . . . . . -183,127

Reserve Position with I.M.F. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 . . . . . . . . . . . . -111

5 Data not available at time of report.

ESTIMATE OF UAE BALANCE OF PAYMENTS , continued




By December 2008, the UAE Central Bank had set up a task orce, the Financial

Stability Unit, to ‘keep an eye’ on potential threats to the UAE’s nancial system.

Proposals on the table include the introduction o ‘nancial vehicles’ to

underpin real estate loans. Throughout 2007 and early 2008 the rate o infation, which, at 11.1 per

cent in 2007, was relatively high by global standards, was infuenced by a

major decline in the value o the US dollar, to which the UAE dirham is linked,

against other global currencies. However, a long-awaited reversal in the US

dollar’s international valuation, along with domestic measures introduced to

dampen ination, brought some relie to the inationary cycle in the secondhal o the year.

Stock markets in the UAE were also aected by the global turmoil in

nancial markets in the second hal o 2008, despite the act that the UAE

has continued to raise standards o corporate governance and transparency,

thereby helping to underpin condence in equity markets.




Diversification

There is no doubt that revenues rom oil exports

were instrumental in transorming the economy

o the country. Nevertheless, there is a deep

awareness that the security o uture generations

depends on prudent investment both at home

and abroad.

Strategic overseas investments by sovereign

wealth unds have been a critical component o the UAE’s economic development strategy or

decades as the country has consistently made

an eort to diversiy where and how it invests its

nancial assets. Funds and companies such as

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, International

Petroleum Investment Company, Abu Dhabi

National Energy Company (Taqa), Mubadala,

Dubai Holdings and Dubai International Capital

have all made their impact on the world stage.

Some are premier global institutional investors,

others take controlling interests in companies

in which they invest.

Economic diversication in the UAE has alsobeen a key plank o government strategy since

the oundation o the state and is one o the

major reasons why the UAE had the strength and

resources to weather the worldwide nancial

storm that threatened to engul all in its path in

2008. In 2007 the non-oil sector accounted or64.1 per cent o GDP (amounting to Dh467.9

billion) and the hydrocarbon sector 35.9 per

cent. Remarkably, the non-oil sector gure was

achieved in a year when oil prices increased by

18.2 per cent, inevitably boosting earnings.

“It is worth

remembering

that diversification

has been

a necessity

rather than

a luxury for most

of the emirates”



Pg 44



To date, a wide range o industrial activities have been encouraged to

establish and grow in an environment that seeks to enhance, not obstruct,

entrepreneurial talents, enabling the UAE to diversiy to an extent that it is

not totally at the mercy o the uctuating world oil price or how much oil and

gas it pumps. Depending on the regional and global situation, the dierent

sectors may shit in terms o their importance, but there are enough varied

ingredients to support a airly balanced economy.

In 2007 the hierarchy o non-oil economic sectors was listed as ollows,

starting with the largest: manuacturing (12 per cent); wholesale, retail andmaintenance (10 per cent); construction and real estate (each 8 per cent);

government services (7 per cent) and nancial enterprises and transport/

storage/communications (both 6 per cent). Agriculture, electricity and water,

restaurants and hotels, together with social and private services, accounted

or around 6 per cent o total GDP.

Besides hydrocarbons and the downstream petrochemicals sector, the

primary sectors attracting investment and providing the main driving

orce or moving the economy orward are manuacturing, transport and

communications, and real estate.

While some activities such as those involving the nancial sector are

not so apparent to the general ‘man on the street’, nobody could miss the

orest o cranes that is evidence o the construction sector’s activities, or

the inescapable advertisements or new real estate projects. But the king o the non-oil sector is still manuacturing: the UAE has pumped nearly Dh29

billion into manuacturing projects over the past our years in support o

more than 1000 projects. The sector includes huge industrial schemes such

as Dubal’s aluminium plant at Jebel Ali, the world renowned ceramics plant,

RAK Ceramics, in Ra’s al-Khaimah, large pharmaceutical plants, steel plants

and petrochemical production industries in Abu Dhabi, together with manysmaller scale but highly successul manuacturing units such as boat-builders,

urniture makers, ood and clothes manuacturers.

It is worth remembering that diversication has been a necessity rather

than a luxury or most o the emirates. With Abu Dhabi holding over 90 per

cent o the country’s hydrocarbon reserves, other emirates were orced to



Pg 45

tHe economy


look elsewhere or economic growth. Dubai, where as little as 3 per cent

o GDP is contributed by oil, depends more on tourism, transport, trade,

construction, real estate development and nancial services. Each o the

emirates has adopted its own ormula or growth, playing to their individual

strengths and tapping into the network o advantages that membership o

the ederation has brought them.

The UAE’s extensive range o ree zones has been one o the strongest

pillars o the country’s diversication strategy, attracting signicant amounts

o oreign investment, creating thousands o jobs, and acilitating technologytranser into the country. At US$19 billion in 2007 the value o oreign direct

investment in the UAE is the highest in the region.

Signicantly, the UAE is a contracting party to GATT and one o the original

members o the WTO. UAE trade in 2007 totalled Dh1.01 trillion, accounting

or 22.2 per cent o all Arab trade, despite the act that the UAE population

is only 1.4 per cent o the total Arab population. Trade gures throughout

the UAE continued to show impressive increases in 2008. At the same time,

the UAE is negotiating eight ree-trade agreements with key economic blocs

that will signicantly impact trade.

New ideas are emerging all the time, helping to keep the UAE at the head

o those countries adapting their economies to the changing circumstances

o the twenty-rst century. In the telecom sector, Etisalat is one o the

largest companies o its kind in the world and has exported its expertise tocreate telephone networks in many new areas rom Arica to the Far East.

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi-based Thuraya has become a global leader in satellite

telecommunications systems with its unique handset that switches seamlessly

rom GSM to satellite systems.

Not only is the UAE one o the most internet-connected countries in the

world, it has created its own business zone, Internet City. This has been sosuccessul that it has served as a model or other ree zones such as Media

City and Studio City. The latter, which has acilities or movie production is

just a small part o the UAE’s move into major lm-making. For example.

Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC) has ormed a lm nancing subsidiary,

‘imagenation abu dhabi’ with plans to spend more than US$1 billion (Dh3.67




billion) developing, nancing and producing as many as 40 eature lms over

the next ve years. Such examples are ew o many that surprise rst-time

visitors to the UAE.

We should also mention the aviation industry, very well established already

and still growing with multi-award winning airlines such as Emirates and

Etihad operating out o two o the UAE’s seven international airports. Both

airlines have huge orders placed or Airbus and Boeing aircrat to acilitate

uture expansion. There are even plans to build aircrat in the UAE.

Some will recall the complete disbelie in international circles when theUAE announced it was going to become a major tourism destination. But the

critics were orgetting that the authorities had done their homework. They

calculated that their sae and hospitable environment, beautiul and reliable

weather or over hal the year, tropical seas, desert sands, cultural riches and

much more, together with their location, equidistant between China and

Europe and in comortable ying time rom both, would be enough to bringvisitors in their millions. They were right. The UAE is expecting to attract 11.2

million tourists by 2010. It has some o the world’s most amous and iconic

hotels, such as Emirates Palace, Burj Dubai and Atlantis. Shoppers fock to

the numerous malls and it is one o the world’s main centres or gold and

jewellery trading.



Pg 47www.uaeinteract.com/oilgas

Energy Sector

On the broader economic ront, it is important to stress that the Government’s

strategy o economic diversication is not misunderstood as simply ‘moving

away rom oil and gas’. On the contrary, the continued signicance o

hydrocarbons to the economy is the means by which a broader diversication

will be achieved and supported, and not the reason it is necessary. The

Emirates exported around 2.6 million barrels o crude oil per day (bpd) in

2007 and had a production capacity o around 2.7 million bpd with work

well under way to raise that gure to 3.3 million bpd by 2010 and possibly toover 5 million bpd by 2014. The country’s proven crude oil reserves stand at

97.8 billion barrels, or slightly less than 8 per cent o the world’s total reserves.

Abu Dhabi holds 94 per cent o this amount, or about 92.2 billion barrels.

Dubai contains an estimated 4 billion barrels, ollowed by Sharjah and Ra’s al-

Khaimah, with 1.5 billion and 100 million barrels o oil, respectively.

Signicantly, the country’s energy sector is no longer about just oil andgas, although those are by ar the most important ingredients at this stage.

The long-term uture lies not in diminishing resources but in sustainable

renewable energy, and the UAE has plans to leverage its involvement in

the traditional energy sector to invest in, and acquire, production capacity,

acilities and expertise in all areas o alternative energy!



OIL PRODUCTION (thousand of barrels)

Page 48 www.uaeinteract.com/oilgas



Pg 49www.uaeinteract.com/oilgas

Who would have guessed that the UAE would be one o the rst countries

on earth to attempt to design and build a ‘zero carbon’ city? This is not a

matter o altruism or high ideals, but o hard-headed business planning. The

UAE plans to be at the head o the posse in terms o what it has to oer, sellor supply in the energy eld, whether it is equipment, integrated operating

and storage systems, or actual megawatts.

Abu Dhabi’s Masdar Initiative, which is responsible or the ‘zero carbon’ city,

is establishing an Institute o Science and Technology to address issues o

importance to the region in areas as critical as renewable energy, sustainability,

environment, water resources, systems engineering and management,transport and logistics, and advanced materials. It will be an independent

non-prot, tax-exempt research and educational institution and is being

ounded with the assistance and advice o the Technology and Development

Program at the Massachusetts Institute o Technology (MIT), all part o the

UAE’s careully laid out plans or uture growth and prosperity.



Pg 51

The main thrust o the UAE’s inrastructure policies is to build

better cities, thereby providing a better lie or the people o

the UAE. Through visionary leadership and the philosophy

o excellence ingrained in all inrastructural developments,

the intention is to lead the region and the world in shapingsustainable urban centres.

Abu Dhabi, the ederal capital, has ormulated an

ambitious urban development strategy, ‘Plan Abu

Dhabi 2030’, enabling city planners to respond to current

and uture development needs. A core eature o theplan is the concept o a sustainable city built around

vibrant neighbourhoods. It is a concept that envisages

concentrating growth, optimising transportation, creating

mixed-use, pedestrian-riendly streets, implementing

more sustainable, cost-eective inrastructure, and

protecting and enhancing the natural environment.Plan Abu Dhabi 2030 has created a structured and

clearly articulated ramework or the city’s long-term

growth. It epitomises a resh spirit o city building and an

expansion programme that puts culture and community

ahead o pure commercialisation.

infrastructure‘Better cities, better lives’



Pg 52 www.uaeinteract.com/urban

A primary ocus o the plan is to ensure that

Abu Dhabi’s uture shape refects its heritage

and retains its unique identity, allowing it to

become a contemporary expression o an Arab

city. To achieve this, Plan 2030 proposes a radical

transormation o the capital city, based on the

development o core districts: a new downtown

Central Business District will be centred on Sowwah

and Reem islands, two o the many islands that arebeing put to good eect by the plan; a secondary

downtown development, Capital City, is destined

to be a key seat o local and ederal government;

midway between these two, the Grand Mosque

District, incorporating Zayed Sports City, allows or

more residential and commercial units. Designated

areas will be dedicated to industry. In addition,

the development o a portion o Saadiyat Island

into Abu Dhabi’s Cultural District is an exciting

aspect o the plan. The district will include ve

landmark museums or perormance spaces,

including the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and the

Sheikh Zayed National Museum, all designed byworld-renowned architects.

Another important part o the plan is the creation

o communities that refect local Emirati customs

and ways o lie. Sustainability initiatives such as

strict building standards and the use o solar and

wind power will also make these communitiesmore sel-reliant in the uture. Furthermore, a key

principle o the planning process is to respect,

be scaled to, and be shaped by the natural

environment, in particular the sensitive coastal

and desert ecosystems.

“a key principle of

the planning

process is

to respect,

be scaled to,

and be shaped

by the natural

environment”



Pg 53

infrastrUctUre

www.uaeinteract.com/urban

Already aspects o the plan’s implementation are evident in and around thecapital city and approximately Dh734 billion (US$200 billion) will be pumped

into various projects in the coming ve years. Aldar’s extensive Central Market

redevelopment is a prominent eature o the plan, serving the commercial

heart o the original city centre. Aldar is also working on the Al Raha Beach

project on the mainland. Nearby, the Yas Island development is being

prepared or the 2009 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Work has also commenced

on Al Reem Island’s City o Light project. Capital Centre, surrounding Abu

Dhabi International Exhibition Centre, is well under way and the rst phase

o Arzanah in the vicinity o Zayed Sports City is scheduled or completion in

2012. Meanwhile, Saadiyat Island, being developed in three phases by Abu

Dhabi’s Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), is scheduled

or completion in 2018.

City planners have also drawn up ambitious new blueprints or developingAl Ain and the Western Region (recently renamed Al Gharbia). The prospect o

large-scale development in Al Ain coincides with the city’s bid to be selected

as a World Heritage Site by Unesco. Tourism, especially eco-tourism centred

on the area’s unique coastline and oshore islands, is a key eature o the

radical regeneration programme planned or Al Gharbia.

Eorts are also being made in the other constituent emirates o the UAEto ensure that development is planning-led, as opposed to demand-led,

which is the case in many o the world’s major cities. As already emphasised,

the objective is to provide the inrastructure that will attract tourism, trade

and industry, including valuable service industries, at the same time creating

living sustainable communities.



Pg 54 www.uaeinteract.com/urban

Dubai Urban Development Framework (DUDF) is an integrated master

plan that provides a comprehensive roadmap or Dubai’s uture up to 2020

and beyond, hopeully solving the main concerns o today’s urban lie. A

measure o the priority being placed on inrastructural development is that

more than a third o Dubai’s budget expenditure in 2009 will be earmarked or

inrastructure projects. The Dh36 billion 2009 public expenditure will meet the

cost o construction o the Metro, the new Al Maktoum International Airportat Dubai World Central, bridges, roads and other inrastructure projects.

Dubai has gained a reputation or executing innovative inrastructural

projects such as the three Palms and The World, executed by Nakheel, and

Dubai Marina led by Emaar. The latter is also responsible or the world-

renowned Burj Dubai. With an original design height o 808 metres and a

nal height that remains a closely guarded secret, the towering structure isnow virtually complete. It meets all our criteria listed by the Council on Tall

Buildings and Urban Habitat, which classies the world’s tallest structures. Burj

Dubai also anchors Emaar’s Downtown Dubai eaturing the Old Town quarter

and Souk al-Bahar, a new leisure and retail destination set within the context

o a traditional Arabian souk, phase one o which was opened in 2008.



Pg 55www.uaeinteract.com/urban

However, the global nancial crisis has impacted on some o the more

ambitious projects planned or Dubai and Nakheel announced in December

2008 that it was delaying long-term inrastructure work on some o its projects,

including Palm Deira and the Arabian Canal.

The northern emirates are also undergoing a major transormation to

one degree or another, depending on their size and inclination. Sharjah,

the third largest o the seven emirates, is developing Al Nujoom Islands

amongst other projects. Freehold developments in Ajman, spearheaded by

Ajman Development and Investment Authority, are being undertaken in asustainable manner so that Ajman can acquire its own unique identity. The

emirate’s most ambitious development is its Dh220 billion (US$63 billion) Al

Zorah project, which has ree zone and reehold status.

The government o the northernmost emirate, Ra’s al-Khaimah, is working

on several major projects in real estate, tourism and industry. Again, reehold

rights and the granting o ree zone privileges have been stimulating actorsin the mushrooming o projects in this emirate.

Meanwhile, in the stunningly beautiul Emirate o Fujairah the real estate

emphasis is naturally on improving tourism inrastructure, with several new

ve-star hotels having opened their doors to the public in recent years, and

many more under construction.



Pg 56 www.uaeinteract.com/transport

Transport

Ecient transportation is at the very core o the UAE’s inrastructural planning

and current developments. Abu Dhabi’s ve-year strategic plan or 2008–2012

creates guidelines or motor, maritime, civil aviation and public transport,

aimed at delivering an eective transport system that contributes to the

economic growth, quality o lie and environmental sustainability o the

emirate. The plan includes a metro system, high-speed rail throughout Abu

Dhabi and linking to other emirates, buses, trams and water taxis.

Road projects worth Dh20 billion (US$5.44 billion) are under way in Abu

Dhabi, including the network o highways that will be required to service the

massive new real estate, tourism and industrial developments taking place

in the city. The new road projects are ocused on acilitating trac fow on

main arteries into and out o the capital, such as Al Salam Street and Airport

Road. Another massive road project has been partially completed alongCorniche Street. The road bridge linking Saadiyat Island with Abu Dhabi

Island is nearing completion and Aldar and TDIC have ormed a consortium

to construct the Dh1.83 billion (US$500 million), ten-lane Shahama–Saadiyat

highway and associated bridges, which will link the Central Business District,

Saadiyat Island, Yas Island, Al Raha and the airport.

Dubai’s Road Transport Authority (RTA) has initiated a transport master

plan that will see the emirate spend about Dh80 billion (US$21.7 billion) by

2020 on expansion o the road network and development o a mass transport

system, including Dubai Metro, buses and marine transport. The challenge is

to cope with the expected increase in population rom the current 1.4 million

to 5.2 million by 2020.



Pg 57www.uaeinteract.com/transport

The Dh15.5 billion (US$4.2 billion) Dubai Metro project is the most ambitious

part o the RTA’s integrated mass transport system. The 52-kilometre Red Line

viaduct was completed in August 2008 and track laying and stations’ t-out

are under way to meet the 9 September 2009 deadline. Green, Purple and Blue

lines are also planned. In addition, at least eight to ten new monorails will be

installed in various part o Dubai.

Elsewhere, massive mixed-use developments in some o the northern

emirates necessitate a restructuring and upgrading o road systems. Arterial

routes between Dubai and Sharjah have already been improved and highways

linking the northern emirates to their southern counterparts are constantly

being upgraded.

Aviation is a key element o the UAE’s transport inrastructure with over

Dh77.5 billion (US$28.4 billion) earmarked to develop seven international

airports. This pattern o regional airport expansion is being uelled by strong

economic growth and the rapid development o locally based aviation

companies, including Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and low-cost operators

such as Air Arabia.

When ully operational, Abu Dhabi International Airport’s new terminal will

accommodate 5 million passengers, bringing the total passenger capacity toover 12 million. The new terminal, which is or the exclusive use o Etihad Airways

and is capable o handling wide-bodied aircrat, will meet Etihad’s needs until

the rst phase o a huge Mideld Terminal Complex is completed in 2012. This

will boost the airport’s overall capacity to around 20 million passengers a year,

with room or urther phased expansion to 40 million by 2016.



Pg 58


www.uaeinteract.com/transport

Abu Dhabi is also creating the Middle East’s rst dedicated executive airport

at Al Bateen just 10 kilometres rom Abu Dhabi city centre. And new airports

at island resorts such as Sir Bani Yas and Dalma are enabling easy access via

air taxis or air-shuttle services operating rom both Bateen and Abu Dhabi

International Airport.

Approximately 40 million passengers used Dubai International Airport

in 2008. A phased transition o Emirates Airline operations to the airport’s

impressive new Terminal 3, a multi-level underground structure with a 40

million passenger capacity, commenced in October 2008. This new terminalis equipped to service wide-bodied aircrat. Dubai is also building a new

airport on the outskirts o the city. Al Maktoum International, when it is ully

operational, is expected to handle 120 million passengers a year.

Sharjah International Airport (SIA) has also recorded steady growth in

passenger trac and the launching o the very successul Air Arabia has

played a major role in overall activity at the airport. Ongoing developments

are expected to boost the capacity o SIA to handle more than 8 million

passengers a year.

Ra’s al-Khaimah International Airport is implementing a our-year plan to

construct new arrival and departure lounges, a ree zone, automated cargo

warehouses, parking lots, oces and restaurants. Plans are also in place to

construct a new ve-star airport hotel and build a new runway. Fujairah is

planning a new airport near Siji, on the western side o the Hajar Mountains,close to the new Fujairah–Dubai highway.

Whilst the aviation industry is vital or the UAE economy, the vast bulk o

the UAE’s imports and exports pass through its sea ports o which the UAE

has 20, ranging rom state-o-the-art oil terminals, world-class industrial ports

and container-handling acilities to smaller dhow and wooden-boat whars. All

UAE ports experienced record perormances in 2008 as the region’s economicboom meant that imports o the necessary materials, oodstus and luxury

goods fooded into the country.

Eighty per cent o goods arriving into Abu Dhabi emirate do so by sea.

Until recently, Mina Zayed, on the edge o Abu Dhabi City, played the key role

in the emirate’s port operations. This is set to change in 2011 when Khalia



Pg 59www.uaeinteract.com/transport

Port and Industrial Zone (KPIZ) will take over as the emirate’s primary port.

The Dh37 billion (US$10 billion) greeneld port project is being constructed

4.6 kilometres oshore o Taweelah on 3.4 square kilometres o reclaimed

land, roughly halway between the two cities o Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The

adjacent industrial, logistics, commercial, educational and residential zonesare spread over 137 square kilometres.

Meanwhile, Dubai’s Jebel Ali, the largest port in the Middle East, and Port

Rashid, also in Dubai, have been going through rapid expansion phases. As

with Mina Zayed, cargo operations at Port Rashid are being scaled down and

moved to a more ecient location, in this case Jebel Ali with its new container

terminal (T2) adding 3 million tonnes increased handling capacity. Betweenthem terminals 1 and 2 can now handle 15 million tonnes o cargo per year.

Sharjah Container Terminal (Port Khalid) (SCT) on the Gul and Khor Fakkan

Container Terminal (KCT) on the east coast have also undergone major

expansion to keep pace with demand. The Port o Fujairah, also on the east

coast has recently raised Dh900 million to expand existing operations.



Pg 61www.uaeinteract.com/elec_h2o

Electricity and Water

An adequate supply o electricity and water

is an absolute prerequisite to uel the massive

economic and inrastructure developments

described above. It is no surprise, thereore, that

considerable eort is being expended to meet

burgeoning demand. The Federal Electricity and

Water Authority (Fewa) is the body responsibleor overseeing ederal utilities, whilst authorities

in emirates such as Abu Dhabi (Adwea), Dubai

(Dewa) and Sharjah (Sewa) oversee power and

water generation in their individual areas.

Residents in the UAE draw on around 11,000

kilowatt hours per person per year. The national

annual peak demand or electricity is rising at

an overall cumulative annual growth rate o

roughly 9 per cent per annum. But key centres

such as Abu Dhabi are seeing much higher rises

in consumption with peak demand predicted to

reach 18,574 MW by 2010. Today, independent

water and power projects (IWPPs) supply the

bulk o electricity and water in Abu Dhabi, and

Taweelah A-2, the UAE’s rst IWPP, is being used

across the region as a blueprint or a successul

privatisation strategy. Overall industry estimates

expect electricity capacity in the UAE to rise to

26,000 MW by 2010, but this gure is constantlyunder review.

So ar, Dubai has been able to meet demand

or electricity and water, which has been growing

in the emirate at a rate o 15 per cent and 12

per cent respectively, but this is set to escalate.

“Despite the

scarcity of

natural water

resources,

residents of

the UAE

are among

the highest

per capita

water users

in the world”



Pg 62


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Some o the northern emirates are currently experiencing power shortages,

a situation which is being rapidly addressed by local and ederal authorities.

Despite the scarcity o natural water resources, residents o the UAE

are among the highest per capita water users in the world, consuming

an average o 550 litres per day. The UAE relies on renewable and non-

renewable groundwater and desalinated water or supply. It plans to build

68 rechargeable dams in the coming ve years to augment the 114 dams

in existence, all but two o which are rechargeable. Irrigation or agriculture,

orestry and amenity plantation accounts or a massive 83 per cent o total groundwater use and it is generally recognised that this position is

untenable. Groundwater is being severely degraded and aquiers depleted.

However, desalination now supplies almost all o the water used or human

consumption and or industry. Five o the world’s top-ten desalination plants

are located in the UAE. Most desalination plants are co-generation projects

using excess heat rom power production.

The UAE’s investment in power and water projects increased by 20 per

cent rom Dh42.64 billion (US$11.62 billion) in 2007 to Dh51.34 billion

(US$14 billion) in 2008, 50 per cent o which was earmarked or processing

wastewater, while water generation and transportation accounted or 36 per

cent and 13 per cent respectively.

Most o the UAE’s power and desalination plants are uelled by gas. As

we have already seen in the chapter on the Economy, the UAE has investedheavily in projects to increase gas production over the past 20 years and the

country is also importing Qatari gas through Dolphin pipelines or supply to

power and water plants in Abu Dhabi, Fujairah and Oman.

The Government recognises that the water issue is not just one o supply;

demand management is equally vital or sustainable development and long-

term water security. The aim is to reduce usage to 350 litres per capita perday over the next ve years.

Alternative low-carbon energy sources, such as solar, wind and hydrogen

power, are becoming increasingly attractive in the UAE, especially since the

US$15 billion Masdar Initiative was launched in 2006, marking Abu Dhabi

as the rst major hydrocarbon-producing nation to embrace renewable



Pg 63www.uaeinteract.com/elec_h2o

and sustainable energy. Masdar City will be powered entirely by renewable

energy. Covering an area o 6 square kilometres, electricity will be generated

by photovoltaic panels, some o which will be manuactured in Abu Dhabi,while cooling will be provided via concentrated solar power. Water will be

supplied through a solar-powered desalination plant. Landscaping within

the city and crops grown outside the city will be irrigated with grey water

and treated wastewater produced by the city’s water treatment plant.

In 2008, the UAE set up the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC)

to assess and develop a peaceul nuclear energy programme with a view

to meeting uture energy needs. The move ollowed consultations with

the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the governments o

France, the US, the UK, Russia, China, Japan, Germany and South Korea. The

Government has stressed that it will work closely with the IAEA on the planned

peaceul nuclear power programme.



infrastrUctUre

Communications

The UAE Government recognises that connectivity is a key component

o public inrastructure. Today, telecommunications across all platorms

in the UAE are ast and eective with xed-line, internet and mobile

connectivity among the best in the world. The UAE is presently serviced

by two telecommunications operators, Etisalat and du. Etisalat has been

investing in communications inrastructure providing xed-line telephony,

xed and wireless secure internet access and mobile coverage to the UAEsince its establishment in 1976. Relative newcomer du oers voice, data

and entertainment on mobile networks and converged broadband, TV,

and landline.

Abu Dhabi-based Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Company is a

leading provider o cost-eective, satellite-based mobile telephone services

through dual-mode handsets and satellite payphones. The company launched

a third geosynchronous satellite in January 2008, thus extending its coverage

to nearly two-thirds o the globe’s population.

Emirates Postal Corporation (EPC) has modied its business model and

operational strategies, including the introduction o integrated IT systems,

automated sorting centres and agreements with international postal

authorities, as well as the addition o new business streams in cargo and

logistics, nancial services, direct marketing, mail ullment and other areas. Aholding company, Emirates Post Group, oversees a rapidly expanding amily o

subsidiaries that now includes Emirates Post, the postal corporation, Empost,

the UAE’s national courier company, the Electronic Documentation Centre,

Emirates Marketing and Promotions, and the Wall Street Exchange Centre.



Pg 67

peopleand society ‘Our greatest asset is our people’

This chapter is based on the statement delivered beore the

third Upper Working Group o the UN General Assembly in

November 2008 by Anwar Gargash, Minister o State or

Foreign Afairs, in which he reviewed social development in the UAE and underlined the country’s commitment to

respect human rights enshrined in international conventions

and customary norms.

The UAE believes that its people and their continued well-

being are at the heart o a healthy and stable polity. Thoughthe impact o social change has been signicant and has

resulted in several challenges, the UAE is proud to be a

tolerant and open society that nonetheless cherishes its

traditional roots.

The UAE population enjoys a high standard o living and

is now reaping the benets o considerable investment ineducation, health and social services. For example, more

than 648,000 students were enrolled in 1259 public and

private schools in 2007/08 and the Government’s policy

o guaranteeing ree education up to university level or

all citizens has resulted in a 93 per cent literacy rate.




Today, the UAE has over 60 public and private universities and its drive to

improve education across the board, hand-in-hand with the private sector, is a

key component o Government strategy. In this regard, the UAE is committed to

raising the age or compulsory education to 18 years. The objective is to provide

graduates with the skills required by the switly changing labour market.

In other elds, rapid advancement in healthcare acilities since the

establishment o the ederation drastically reduced inant mortality to about

eight per thousand births in 2008 and raised the average lie expectancy age

to 77 years or men and 80 years or women. In addition, world-class privatehealthcare services are being built throughout the country as the Government

redenes its role rom provider to regulator.

Government strategy ocuses on ensuring country-wide sustainable

development, inclusive o all stratas o society. Initiatives to realise this

objective include enacting legislation and special regulations or the

assimilation o members o society with special needs and other vulnerable

groups into the development process; increasing rehabilitation and training

programmes in partnership with other local and private institutions; providing

ree or subsidised housing; training social welare dependents or the job

market; providing nancial assistance to those in need; as well as enacting

legislation and laws to encourage local institutions, individuals and the private

sector to provide social services.

“Government strategy

focuses on ensuring

country-widesustainable

development”



Pg 69www.uaeinteract.com/socialdevelopment

The country’s social security policy illustrates this eort – in 2008 the

Government allocated over Dh2.2 billion (US$600 million) in nancial

assistance to 16 vulnerable sections o society, numbering nearly 38,000people, with the elderly, physically challenged, orphans, widows, and

divorced women topping the list o beneciaries. Furthermore, the Ministry

o Interior has adopted a programme or the rehabilitation and employment

o physically challenged people by oering training and employment in the

emirate they reside in.



Pg 70


www.uaeinteract.com/humanrights

Human Rights Issues

Amid a rapid modernisation process, the UAE has had a challenging, but

progressive, track record on human rights issues. With a deep aspiration

to improve, the UAE is keen on tackling these issues head on. This stems

rom a cultural heritage and religious values that enshrine justice, equality

and tolerance.

The UAE respects the integrity o every individual residing in the country

and its commitment to guarantee equality and social justice or all citizensis ingrained in the Constitution. The Constitution expressly outlines the

reedoms and rights o all citizens, prohibits torture, arbitrary arrest and

detention, respects civil liberties, including reedom o speech and press,

peaceul assembly and association, as well as the practicing o religion.

In turn the Government has demonstrated its commitment through the

enactment o implementing legislation that saeguard these principles.

However, in recognition o the signicance o its human rights record, the

Government is currently modernising laws and practices in line with best

practices. The Government is also aware that respecting human rights in

accordance with international human rights charters and customary norms

is a priority and in this regard, the UAE has already ratied a number o

international conventions. Moving orward, the UAE is committed to studying

the ramework or accession to the UN Convention against Torture and otherCruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

The UAE’s open-minded approach has ensured a healthy amalgam o its

own traditions and values, as well as those o the rest o the world. The net

result is the existence o a balance between Islamic traditions and heritage

and the practices o other countries.

Human rights education is a key component o the UAE’s enorcementstrategy. To this end, the UAE is planning a human rights education syllabus

or students o Grades 1–12; colleges o law and police academies are required

to oer human rights courses; and a ederal institute or judicial training

and studies has been established. The Government is also committed to

organising workshops ocusing on spreading human rights principles in line



Pg 71www.uaeinteract.com/humanrights

with the international conventions ratied by the state, in cooperation with

specialised international organisations.

In addition, the UAE is in the process o studying the establishment

o a national human rights commission in the country, in line with the

Paris Principles and the Government is also looking orward to enhancing

cooperation with the Human Rights Council.

Meanwhile, the UAE considers the ollowing issues as critical – political

participation, women and labour. While some o these have been subjects

o international scrutiny in the past, these are also issues that the UAE hasproactively addressed.

As already outlined in the chapter on Government, major steps have

been taken during the last ew years, both at the ederal and local levels, to

modernise and institutionalise the UAE Government structure in order to

make it more responsive to the needs o its growing population and to widen

the avenues o participation. This objective is to ensure that government isbetter equipped to cope with the challenges o development.

The process is less about political reorms, but more about what political

participation mechanism best suits the country and how these steps need

to be implemented to ensure greater national stability and security, as well

as continued progress and development or the people.



Pg 72


www.uaeinteract.com/women

Women

Contrary to some misconceptions and stereotypes concerning the role

o women in UAE society, women are in act to the oreront in both the

government and private sector. Furthermore, the Government is committed

to continuing the process o empowering women and utilising their skills in

the growing economy. Currently, nearly hal the students registered in 1259

schools across the UAE are girls; about 75 per cent o all students attending

the UAE University are women; and, three out o every ve students in thepublic higher education system are women.

UAE women account or nearly 30 per cent o the national workorce

and currently occupy posts ranging rom civil servants to engineers and

bankers, as well as traditional jobs in teaching and health care. Women are also

increasingly visible in the law enorcement agencies and the Armed Forces.

In addition, Emirati women are emerging as leaders in non-traditional

careers, rom airline pilots to ambassadors. The judiciary has recently

appointed women to a number o high-level positions, including marriage

registrars, public prosecutors and judges. As ar as political participation

is concerned, women hold a 22.5 per cent share o parliamentary seats,

compared to the world average o 17 per cent.

In February 2008, the Cabinet reshufe increased the number o women

ministers to our, which refects the Government’s serious commitment tonurturing the leadership role o women in society. Women orm 60 per

cent o UAE Government sector employees, o which 30 per cent are in

high-level posts.

Simultaneously, the Government’s holistic approach to women’s issues

has resulted in a number o social support initiatives across the country.

Amongst these, the Dubai Shelter or Women and Children was establishedto provide support and psychological care to all women, both nationals and

expatriates, who are victims o human tracking, domestic violence, amily

neglect, employer abuse and other social problems.

Under the umbrella o the UAE Red Crescent Authority, a similar shelter

has been established in Abu Dhabi. More such shelters are planned across



Pg 73www.uaeinteract.com/women

the country. Other organisations oering similarsocial services are the Social Support Centre o

the Abu Dhabi Police and the Human Rights Care

Department o Dubai Police.

At a broader level, the UAE also championed

the cause o women in the region by hosting the

second Arab Women’s Organisation conerencein November 2008. Furthermore, the Government

has ratied the United Nations Convention on

the Elimination o all Forms o Discrimination

against Women, an international benchmark or

high standards o non-discrimination.

“Emirati women

are emerging

as leaders in

non-traditional

careers, fromairline pilots

to ambassadors”



Pg 74


www.uaeinteract.com/employment

Labour

A large part o the UAE’s population is made up o culturally diverse oreign

workers attracted by the positive employment opportunities and tolerant

social environment in the country. The UAE is proud to have developed

into an open, modern Arab and Islamic model or the region with over 200

nationalities among its workorce.

However, such diversity also brings its challenges. For the UAE,

respecting labour rights is a moral, cultural and economic imperative.As a member o the International Labour Organisation, the Arab Labour

Organisation and other labour-ocused multilateral organisations, the UAE

seeks to work transparently and objectively with regard to its obligations.

Over the past ew years, ederal and local governments have instituted

sweeping reorms aimed at improving working conditions and workers’

rights, refecting the UAE’s commitment to treating all guest workers with

dignity and respect.

Most labour issues concern expatriate workers, especially the unskilled

segment, which has made a signicant contribution to the growth o the

economy. More than 3.1 million oreign workers are contractually employed

in the UAE. As the country moves ahead on its development path, it is doing

its best to ensure that no person living, working and contributing to this

society undergoes any orm o abuse or exploitation. The Government isully committed to creating the necessary mechanisms and saeguards to

protect all who reside and work in the UAE, and is ocusing on several ronts

to address the challenges.

The UAE considers enorcement o policies aimed at protecting the rights

o workers as critical. Ensuring the air and on-time payment o workers is a

particular priority o the labour policy enorcement, which is beginning toimpact positively on the labour climate in the country. Improving working

conditions is another area or action that has seen noticeable progress. In

2007, 122,000 acilities were inspected by the Labour Ministry personnel,

resulting in penalties or 8588 violations related to working conditions and

workers’ rights.




More importantly, the Government is working on a new law to protect

domestic workers, which will aord them ar greater protection and

assurances. The new initiative will particularly benet women who are a

major component o this segment o the workorce. This takes orward the

2006 decision o enorcing mandatory employment contracts to protect the

rights o domestic workers in relation to salary, accommodation, healthcare

and working hours. The UAE is also in the process o nalising a revised version

o Federal Labour Law No 8 o 1980, which has already seen amendments

in 1981, 1985 and 1986.In a move to ensure more accountability, eciency and transparency

among its employees, the Ministry o Labour has introduced a complaints

hotline or the general public to record grievances.

Furthermore, in recent years, the UAE has improved dialogue with

individual labour-exporting countries and established consultations at the

multilateral level to encourage a spirit o partnership. This includes a pilot

project aimed at studying the diculties aced by workers rom the point o

job recruitment in their countries until they return home ater employment

in the UAE.



Pg 77www.uaeinteract.com/employment

The Government is working hard towards managing and governing the

working environment in accordance with international conventions and

international labour standards. The unique challenge o demographics inthe UAE remains a key issue not only in terms o national identity but also

in terms o national security. Government policies must always take this

into account.

Nonetheless, the country also takes pride in the range o multicultural

communities living and working in the UAE that contribute to its economic

and social abric. To cite one example o eorts to ensure social cohesion,the Constitution arms reedom to exercise religious worship in Article 32.

Accordingly the Government has acilitated the establishment o places o

worship or various religions and sects, granting ree land to build houses o

worship or many aiths. Today, in the UAE, there are a total o 59 churches,

two Hindu temples, and one Sikh temple.




UN Initiative

Another closely related issue is that o human tracking, a crime that the UAE

takes extremely seriously. In order to institutionalise the ght against human

tracking and protect its victims, especially women, the Government enacted

Federal Law 51 in 2006. The law takes into account the existing ederal laws

on entry and residency o oreigners, labour, and the exploitation o under-

age camel jockeys. It calls or strong punitive measures, including maximum

penalties o lie imprisonment and covers all orms o human tracking –not just overt enslavement but also sexual exploitation, child labour, and

commerce in human organs.



Pg 79

PeoPle and society

www.uaeinteract.com/humanrights

Furthermore, a Cabinet order established the UAE National Committee to

Combat Human Tracking in 2007 to give teeth to Federal Law 51 and to

create a coordinating body or anti-human tracking eorts at all levels in

the member emirates o the ederation. The Government also worked with

UNICEF, source country embassies and NGOs to identiy, rescue, rehabilitate,

and repatriate children who worked as camel jockeys in the past.

Moreover, while the UAE has already ratied the United Nations Convention

against Transnational Organised Crime, the Government is committed to

ratiying the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Tracking in Persons, especially Women and Children.

In addition, as part o its eort to tackle this crime globally and take a

lead in this ght, the UAE contributed US$15 million to support the United

Nations Global Initiative to Fight Tracking. This included sponsoring the UN

Conerence on Tracking in Persons in Vienna in February 2008 and actively

supporting the United Nation’s thematic debate on tracking in New York

in June 2008.

The UAE endeavours to improve training or law enorcement ocers in

order to make them more aware o aspects o human tracking, especially

in the areas o identiying and interviewing victims, and understanding the

transnational nature o this crime.

The Government is also committed to a national media campaign to

enhance public awareness about the crime o human tracking, to detercriminals and to publicise the existence o helplines and shelters or victims.

In conclusion, the UAE is acting on every ront o its our-pillar strategy to

combat human tracking: legislation, enorcement, victim support, bilateral

agreements and international cooperation. It will continue to demonstrate

resolve and to acknowledge where it still needs to improve. Simultaneously,

the UAE will continue to cooperate with all appropriate regional andinternational law enorcement ocials to eradicate this crime.



Pg 81

mediaand culture‘Building on the cultural heritage o the past’

The media and culture sectors are undergoing a

period o reorganisation, revitalisation and renaissance

in the UAE. Building on the cultural heritage o the

past, major investment is being made in world-class

resources, introducing international best practices intoall areas o activity, stimulating and encouraging local

participation, and at the same time orging bridges

between East and West.

In particular, the Abu Dhabi 2030 vision seeks to

establish the emirate as a regional centre or culture.Following a period o government restructuring,

the National Media Council (NMC) was established

in 2006 to oversee media development in the UAE

and to support media initiatives. All jurisdictions and

responsibilities concerning media aairs that previously

ell under the dissolved Ministry o Inormation andCulture were transerred to the NMC. In particular, the

core media bodies o the old ministry, in the orm o

the Press and Publications Department, the External

Inormation Department and the Emirates News Agency

(WAM), are now under the authority o the NMC.




A number o careully structured organisations are spearheading new

developments. These include Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC), the leading

multi-platorm media and entertainment provider that is mentioned in the

chapter on the Economy in the context o the UAE’s blossoming lm industry.

ADMC is a public joint stock company with operating units that include

television, radio, publishing, digital media, distribution and printing, along

with lm.

The UAE is the regional centre o the print, publishing and advertising

industries with a growth rate o 15 to 20 per cent expected year-on-year. Awide range o English and Arabic-language newspapers and magazines are

produced in the country. In addition, ADMC launched two newspapers in 2008:

a quality daily broadsheet The National, which employs world-class journalists,

published its rst issue on 20 April 2008, whilst Al Mal , the UAE’s rst Arabic

language weekly nancial newspaper, was launched on 23 June 2008.

Despite the upsurge in print media (greatly assisted by a signicant increase

in advertising spending in the rst hal o 2008), there is a general awareness

that journalism in the region requires assistance to develop. Groups such as

the Dubai Press Club are at the oreront o eorts to nurture local talent.

Indigenous television and radio channels, both satellite and terrestrial, are

also thriving in the UAE with homegrown TV production rms producing

some o the most successul programmes in the region.

“A wide range

of English and

Arabic-language

newspapers

and magazines

are produced

in the country”



Pg 83www.uaeinteract.com/media

ADMC owns and operates Abu Dhabi TV, Abu Dhabi Sports Channel,

Emirates TV, Abu Dhabi Radio, Emarat FM Radio, Holy Quran Radio, and Sawt

Al Musiqa, and it launched a new channel ‘Plus One’ in 2008. Noor Dubai, a

new ree-to-air community television channel owned by Arab Media Group,

also commenced broadcasting at the beginning o Ramadan in 2008.

Film, television and related media have been greatly acilitated by the

establishment o dedicated media ree zones throughout the Emirates. Dubai’s

Tecom Business Parks brings under its ambit long-established and highly

successul media-related clusters such as Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media

City, Dubai Studio City and International Media Production Zone. Many o

the world’s top-class media companies operate rom these zones. Fujairah

Creative City, on the other hand, is a media ree zone that was established in2007 under the auspices o the Fujairah Culture and Media Authority.

The year 2008 also saw the launch o a new ‘Arab-centric’ media ree zone

in Abu Dhabi, another milestone in pursuit o Abu Dhabi emirate’s strategy

to become a creative hub or the media, as well as or arts and culture. Set

up by Abu Dhabi Media Free Zone Authority, twoour54 (the geographical

coordinates o Abu Dhabi) was launched with the aim o becoming a centreo excellence or Arabic content creation. A temporary campus is located near

Khalia Park and a permanent 200,000 square metre media park containing

production studios and post production suites, as well as transmission services

or local regional and international lm, broadcasting, digital publishing and

music industries, will be constructed by 2013 in the Mina Zayed area.



Pg 84


www.uaeinteract.com/culture

Other organisations, public and private, have also been instrumental

in ostering media, art and culture in the country. For example, the Abu

Dhabi Authority or Culture and Heritage (ADACH), which was established

in 2005, is a government organisation with ar-sighted aspirations – to

harness the pride o the people o the UAE through the development o its

cultural heritage, and to be the leading cultural development organisation

in the region. Internationally it is contributing to the strengthening o

intercultural dialogue by nurturing projects that encourage the sharing o

cultural traditions and experience.ADACH has a holistic vision o culture, which embraces both tangible

and intangible heritage. It is committing all its resources to the preservation

o architectural and archaeological assets as well as to the development o

Emirati and international arts, music, literature and cinema.

In recognition o the signicant role lms can play in promoting the culture

and heritage o the UAE and the region, ADACH established The Circle in 2007.

The initiative is devoted to the production, nancing and encouragement o

lm-making talent in the Middle East. ADACH, in association with the world-

renowned New York Film Academy, also established a lm and acting school

in 2008 that is devoted to developing the lm industry in the UAE. New York

Film Academy – Abu Dhabi will assist ADACH to oster and support regional

artistic talent and to create an environment conducive to strong cultural and

artistic expression.The result o this ocus is that Emirati lm-makers are the beneciaries o

an extraordinarily rapid build-up in the inrastructure and unding needed

to nurture a local lm industry, which is also supported by UAE lm estivals

such as MEIFF, held in Abu Dhabi and DIFF, held in Dubai.

Signicant support is also being extended to book publishing, especially

the translation into Arabic o important titles as a way to enhance knowledgetranser to the Arab world. ‘Kalima’ is one such initiative organised by ADACH,

whilst the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation is pursuing an

ambitious target o translating more than 1000 books in three years.

ADACH is also committed to presenting the nest perorming arts rom

around the world to the broadest possible audience and music eatures



Pg 85www.uaeinteract.com/culture

strongly in these plans. Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival and Al Ain Classical

Music Festival have been joined by a new dimension to the music scene, Abu

Dhabi Classics, a weekly blend o classic, symphony, jazz and ethnic music

that ran rom October to May.

Major international art exhibitions and events also help to promote young

artists and oster contemporary art. Tourism Development and InvestmentCompany (TDIC) cooperate successully with ADACH in this regard, their

public programme laying the groundwork or the opening o the Cultural

District on Saadiyat Island, which will eature the Louvre Abu Dhabi in close

cooperation with the Louvre in Paris, the Guggenheim, and the Sheikh Zayed

National Museum.

The UAE already has a wide range o museums that celebrate its uniquecultural heritage, some o which are located in renovated historic buildings

and old orts. Indeed. Sharjah’s renovation and restoration o architecturally

acclaimed heritage buildings in the Sharjah Arts Area and Sharjah Heritage

Area have earned it international acclaim. In all, Sharjah has 17 museums

ranging in subject coverage rom Contemporary Arab Art to Natural History.



Pg 87

environment ‘Launching long-term sustainability strategies’

During the course o the last year, eorts by government,

non-governmental organisations and private individuals to

promote the conservation o the UAE’s marine and terrestrial

habitats, and the auna and fora that live within them have

continued to grow, to meet the increasing challenges aced

by the country’s rapid programme o development.

These eorts have covered a wide variety o areas. One ocus

has been on the implementation o a tighter regulatory regime

on industrial and other development activities that have an

impact not only on the environment and wildlie but also on

the country’s human population. Long-term environmental

sustainability strategies have been launched, plans have been

drawn up or a wider, and much larger, network o protected

areas and there has also been a continuing programme o detailed scientic research.

One much-welcomed measure in terms o regulation was

the introduction o tight controls over the country’s quarrying

industry. Largely situated in the mountain areas o Ra’s al-

Khaimah and Fujairah, the quarries produce the rock and gravel



Pg 88 www.uaeinteract.com/environmentandwildlie


used or major construction industry projects in the coastal areas, in particular

in Dubai. Besides their direct impact on the mountain environment and its

auna and ora, the quarries also produce large quantities o dust that threaten

the health o nearby towns and villages.

New regulations introduced by the Ministry o Environment and Water

cover air quality guidelines, noise, health and saety practices and the impact

on the environment o areas adjacent to quarry sites and their associated rock

crushers. They also give government authorities the power to order quarries

to cease work during periods when atmospheric conditions are likely to causedust to remain suspended in the air, threatening human health. Work close

to villages and towns will only be permitted during the day while tighter

controls have also been imposed on the use o explosives.

O the 80 or so quarries currently operating, a ew, largely managed by

international companies, are already meeting, or nearly meeting, the new

guidelines, but over three quarters o the quarries will need to improve their

perormance substantially or will be closed down.

Another major initiative during the year was the launching by the

Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) o the Abu Dhabi Environment

Strategy 2008–2012, which lays down the environmental policy agenda or

the next ve years. Developed through a wide process o consultation with

major stakeholders, the strategy sets a benchmark or monitoring changes

over time, outlines the long-term vision, mission and goal o the emirate interms o environmental policy and provides an action plan or the uture.

Two and ve year targets have been identied or ten priority areas, including

environmental sustainability, water resource management, air quality,

hazardous materials and waste management, biodiversity management,

environmental awareness, an environmental health and saety management

system, and management o emergencies.As the country’s development programme occupies an ever-growing

proportion o the UAE’s land, so too is a larger proportion o the country’s

territory now being scheduled or protection as national parks. In Abu Dhabi,

which already has several thousand square kilometres o protected areas,

both onshore and in shallow coastal waters, EAD was nalising plans at the




end o the year or the ormal designation o new areas that will more than

double the amount o land and sea being protected in the emirate. Much

o the newly designated area will be in the southern and western deserts,

but the area o mangroves adjacent mudfats and channels just to the east

o Abu Dhabi Island, an important habitat or breeding sh and or birds, is

also being proposed as the rst o one o ve new National Parks under the

Plan Abu Dhabi 2030.

In the northern emirates o Sharjah, Ra’s al-Khaimah and Fujairah, parts o

the Hajar Mountains are also being prepared or designation as protectedareas, an important step, since the mountains are home to much o the UAE’s

endangered wildlie and provide key habitats. Large areas o Dubai’s deserts

are now also ormally protected, although virtually the entire coastal zone

o that emirate has now been irrevocably altered by development. That is

not always a completely negative actor, however. For the rst time in 2008,

three species o seabirds were recorded breeding in Dubai, on undeveloped

oshore islets that are part o The World project, and plans are now being

proposed to set aside islets specically to encourage urther breeding.



Pg 93

environment

www.uaeinteract.com/environmentandwildlie

Recognising that conservation programmes can only be truly successul

i they are multinational, the UAE was co-organiser, along with the UK, o

an international conerence in Abu Dhabi in late October 2008 at which a

new multinational Memorandum o Understanding (MoU) was signed by

28 countries on conservation o birds o prey in Arica, Europe and Asia. The

ormation o a new Mohammed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund was

also announced at that time. With an initial endowment o Dh125 million

(US$34 million) provided by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed

bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the und will provide grants or small-scale projectsthroughout the world that are aimed at protecting individual endangered

species (http://www.mbzspeciesconservation.org/).

Scientiic research into aspects o the country’s environment has

continued to yield good results, with work being undertaken by government

agencies such as EAD, the Environment and Protected Areas Authority (EPAA)

in Sharjah and the Environment Protection and Industrial Development

Commission o Ra’s al-Khaimah, non-governmental organisations such as

the Emirates Wildlie Society and the Emirates Bird Records Committee and

independent observers.

During 2008, or example,our new species were added to the UAE Bird

List, bringing the total to 445, a remarkable number or such a small and

arid country, while several species o reptiles, insects and molluscs new to

the country were also identied. It is probable that there is much morethat remains to be discovered, as investigations o the UAE’s remarkable

biodiversity continue.

One important initiative was the signing in February o a MoU between

EAD and the Emirates Bird Records Committee (EBRC) under which the

agency will maintain the EBRC database o nearly a quarter o a million

records o wild birds seen throughout in the UAE since the late 1960s. Tobe continually updated with the addition o new records, this will provide

EAD with one o the most extensive national databases o wild bird records

in the Arabian Peninsula. The two will also collaborate on the preparation

o the ocial national checklist o birds, in accordance with internationally

accepted standards.



Pg 95

‘From community sports to world championships’

The UAE has already established itsel on the international

sporting stage, hosting many o the world’s major events in

a wide range o sports. These events not only attract largenumbers o competing and sports enthusiasts rom around

the globe to the UAE, they also see some o the country’s own

top sportsmen and women in action.

Aside rom the international circuit events, the UAE has a

healthy indigenous sporting environment with the local

community taking part in a wide variety o sporting activities

at home and abroad. Teams rom throughout the seven

emirates regularly compete in national leagues and cups

in a multiplicity o sports that are controlled by specialised

governing bodies. Top sporting venues (both indoor and

outdoor), along with a avourable climate, ensure that theactivities continue throughout the winter season.

In 2008, nine UAE athletes were proud to represent their

country in the twenty-ninth Olympic Games in Beijing,

pitching themselves against world-class sportsmen and

women rom over 200 countries.

sportsand

leisure




Like any other sporting nation, the UAE has a huge interest in ootball.

The Emirates was host to the eighteenth Gul Cup in January 2007 and it

proved to be a momentous occasion as the national team managed to pull

o one o its biggest achievements in ootball, beating Oman 1–0 to win

the coveted cup or the rst time.

Cricket is another very popular sport in the UAE with events being

organised throughout the Emirates at purpose built venues such as the

magnicent Zayed International Cricket Stadium, the new Cricket Stadium

being built at Dubai Sports City and Sharjah’s world-class stadium.Plans to nurture a UAE tennis champion are being supported by Tennis

Emirates, the governing body or the sport in the UAE. Tournaments, such as

the annual Tennis Championship at Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex,

part o Zayed Sports City, are staged throughout the UAE with the aim o

seeking out both new and undernourished talent. In the meantime, the

UAE consistently attracts leading tennis players to compete in highly-rated

WTA tournaments.

Camel racing has developed into a proessional sport with signicant prize

money and is also a big tourist attraction throughout the winter months.

Horse racing is another traditional pastime that has evolved into a highly

proessional sport. Races or thoroughbreds and the legendary purebred

Arabian horses take place in the country’s top equestrian clubs and courses,

“In 2008, nine

UAE athletes were

proud to represent

their country in the

twenty-ninth Olympic

Games in Beijing”



Pg 98 www.uaeinteract.com/sports

but the highlight o the season is the Dubai International Racing Carnival,

culminating in the world’s richest race, the US$6 million Dubai World Cup.

Endurance racing, in which UAE teams have had considerable success on

the world stage, is also extremely popular.

Gol is denitely not a traditional sport but a multiplicity o top-class gol

courses and the staging o prestigious PGA championships have guaranteed

its popularity.The international motor sports’ calendar includes the Abu Dhabi Classic,

the UAE Desert Challenge, the FIM Cross Country Rally’s World Championship

or bikes and the Dubai International Rally. Abu Dhabi’s new world-class F1

track on Yas Island will see its inaugural event in 2009, the Etihad Airways Abu

Dhabi Grand Prix – the grand nale o the 18-race F1 calendar or 2009.

With the Arabian Gul on its western shores and the Indian Ocean alongits eastern anks, the UAE is particularly attractive or watersports’ ans. Both

coasts are ideal or competitive watersports, rom traditional dhow racing

to jetskiing and powerboat challenges. Signicantly, the UAE’s Victory team

has met with considerable success over the years in the Class One World

Powerboat Championships, which culminate in Dubai.



Pg 101

‘A prime venue or all events’

Investment in the exhibitions, events and conerences

industry has reinorced the Government’s plan to position

the region as a global centre o tourism and trade and a

world leader in the MICE sector. Recent estimates conclude

that the UAE has about hal o the total covered exhibition

space currently available in the Gul Cooperation Council,

but this will increase to 65 per cent by 2009.

Abu Dhabi’s involvement in exhibitions has been boosted

by the establishment o its National Exhibition Centre

(ADNEC) – the Arabian Gul’s largest exhibition venue.

Although it is presently undergoing urther development,

including the construction o a marina, the uturistic location

already hosts some o the Gul’s largest and most signicantinternational exhibitions.

The capital city also has excellent meeting and conerence

acilities at its many luxury hotels, including the seven-star

Emirates Palace Hotel with its 1200-capacity auditorium, a

main ballroom that can accommodate up to 2800 people,

exhibitions and

events



Pg 102 www.uaeinteract.com/exhibitions

48 meeting rooms, six large unction terraces, a media centre and business

centre, all built within the heart o a beachront hotel that stands on 100

hectares o landscaped gardens.

Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), which was built in the 1980s and which

now includes the adjacent Dubai International Convention and ExhibitionCentre (DICEC), is dwared by new buildings. It, nevertheless, remains at

the epicentre o Dubai’s highly successul international trade and business

industry. Meanwhile, a new purpose-built venue, Dubai Exhibition City, is

under construction at Jebel Ali and many o Dubai’s extensive range o luxury

ve-star hotels also boast impressive conerence and meeting acilities.

Sharjah’s Expo City, Ra’s al-Khaimah’s Convention and Exhibition Centre andFujairah’s Exhibition Centre have all received signicant investment enabling

regional exhibitions to gain greater traction beyond the major cities o Abu

Dhabi and Dubai.

The ollowing is a small representative selection o the many exhibitions

that take place every year in the UAE:



Pg 103

eXHiBitions and events

www.uaeinteract.com/exhibitions

¢ Adihex, also known as Abu Dhabi 2008, a four-day annual platform for the

hunting and equine industries with a distinctive emphasis on heritage and

traditional sports.

¢ Adipec, the biennial international petroleum show, one of the outstanding

events of its kind in the world.

¢ Environment 2009, highlighting energy, water, waste, air and land

management issues.

¢ Idex, the International Defence Exhibition and Conference, one of the largest

and most important events for the global defence industry.

¢ Abu Dhabi Medical Congress, an important exhibition and conference

for regional healthcare manufacturers, wholesalers, dealers and distributors.¢ Abu Dhabi Motor Show, a biennial event showcasing a wide range of vehicles.

¢ Abu Dhabi Yacht Show, a yachting event of global standing to be

held at ADNEC’s new marina.

¢ Middle East Communications Exhibition and Conference (Mecom),

one of the largest dedicated business-to-business networking platforms

for the communications industry in the Middle East.

¢ Najah Education Conference, billed as the most comprehensiveeducation, training and careers event to be held in the UAE.

¢ Power Generation & Water Middle East, for companies involved

in these sectors to exhibit their products, services and solutions.

¢ Roadex/Railex, focusing on all aspects of the transport industry.

¢ World Future Energy Summit (WFES), one of the world’s leading

conferences and exhibitions on global energy policies and the development

of alternative and renewable investment and infrastructure.

¢ Arabian Travel Market (ATM), universally recognised as the leading travel

industry event for the Middle East and pan-Arab region.

¢ Cityscape, a major business-to-business real estate investment and

development event in the Cityscape global brand with major exhibitions

in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

¢ Dubai Airshow, a biennial event billed as the world’s third largest

aerospace exhibition.

¢ Dubai International Boat Show, showcasing boats and companiesfrom every part of the industry.

¢ Dubai Motor Show, a biennial event targeting the buoyant

automobile market.

¢ Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (Gitex), one of the three

biggest exhibitions of its kind in the world.



u HISTORY AND HERITAGE

u GOVERNMENT

u THE ECONOMY

u INFRASTRUCTURE

u PEOPLE AND SOCIETY

u MEDIA AND CULTURE

u ENVIRONMENT

u SPORTS AND LEISURE

uae booklet 2009

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