On 2nd December, the United Arab Emirates celebrates its 36th National Day after the completion of another year of successful progress in the development of its rapidly-growing economy.
Formed in 1971 from seven emirates, Abu Dhabi, which is the seat of the capital, Dubai, the country's commercial centre, Sharjah, Ra's al-Khaimah, Fujairah, Umm al-Qaiwain and Ajman, the UAE is located in the south-eastern corner of the Arabian peninsula, with coastlines on the Arabian Gulf and on the Indian Ocean.
Following 150 years during which the emirates had separate treaty relations with Britain, they came together as a federal state under the leadership of the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who became the country's first President, a post to which he was re-elected at successive fine-yearly intervals until his death in November 2004. Since that time, the UAE has been led by his eldest son, President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, ably assisted, since early 2006, by the Vice President and Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also the Ruler of Dubai, and the five other rulers who, together with them, make up the country's top political body, the Supreme Council of Rulers.
The country's prosperity derives in large part from its reserves of oil and gas, of which it has, respectively, the fourth and fifth largest reserves in the world. Its oil production commenced in 1962, and it now produces around 2.6 million barrels a day, with plans to raise capacity to around 4 million barrels a day over the course of the next decade.
When the UAE was first established, President Sheikh Zayed and his colleagues had the foresight to decide that the revenues from oil and, later, gas exports should be used to fund a major programme of development of the country's infrastructure, and, over the next three decades, this permitted Government to lay down the essential elements of a thriving society, including housing, medical services, airports, ports and a modern transport infrastructure, as well as a system of state education for the country's citizens that provides free schooling from the primary stage to university level.
As a result, the country's citizens now enjoy a standard of living and a life expectancy, for both men and women, that is comparable to many of the world's leading industrial nations.
Another objective of Government has been that of ensuring that women, as well as men, should fully participate in the benefit of the opportunities that have come from development, this process culminating in late 2006 with the formation of a new Federal National Council, or Parliament, in which women hold over 22 per cent of the seats, one of the highest figures in the world. There are also two female Cabinet Ministers.
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PROGRESS: The process of growth in the economic and social sectors has, of course, not taken place without many other changes as well. Over the course of the last forty years, the total population of the country has risen from around 250,000 to around 4.25 million.
Of these, only around twenty per cent are UAE citizens, the rest being comprised of an expatriate workforce that includes people from virtually every country in the world, although a large number are from other parts of the Arab world and from the countries of South Asia, along with many from Europe.
Both UAE citizens and expatriates play a major role in the country's development, in both the Government and private sectors, although considerable attention is being paid by Government to a policy of 'Emiratisation', which seeks to ensure that the country's citizens are afforded all possible opportunities for employment throughout the economy.
UAE'S SUCCESS IN DIVERSIFICATION OF RESOURCES: Although exploitation of the oil and gas reserves provide much of the funds for Government investment, it has always been recognised that these are depleting resources, and there has been a consistent policy since the UAE's establishment of seeking to diversify the sources of national income.
Commencing with heavy industry, particularly in the downstream petrochemicals sector, this diversification has spread to encompass a wide variety of sectors, including services, banking and finance, property development, light industry and tourism.
Today, oil and gas revenues account for only around a third of the UAE's Gross National product, estimated at US $163 billion in 2006. Although the percentage varies from year to year as a result of fluctuating world energy prices - 2006 and 2007 having seen dramatic increases in the price of oil - the non-oil sectors of the economy now not only provide the bulk of GDP but also most of the employment.
This process of diversification has helped, in turn, to promote the development of the country's private sector, and one major focus over the course of the last three years, since Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan succeeded his father as the UAE's President in 2004, has been a recognition of the need for a greater participation by the private sector in all spheres of development.
This has been reflected in a number of major strategy documents that have been issued over the course of the last year, including a UAE-wide strategy, adopted by the federal Government, and separate strategies adopted by the two largest emirates, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
GOVERNMENT FORM BALANCED STRATEGY: The UAE Government Strategy, launched early in the year by the Vice President and Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is based on the National Programme unveiled by President Sheikh Khalifa in 2005, and covers 21 individual topics, in the six sectors of social development, economic development, public sector development, justice and safety, infrastructure and rural areas development.
The strategy, according to the Vice President and Prime Minister, 'sets the foundations for a new era of public administration. The changing times and the nature of the challenges prompt us to think in a different way and to adopt international best practices in the area of public administration.
This strategy unifies efforts within a strategic framework with clear objectives, based on detailed studies (and). . . clearly identifies and integrates federal and local efforts.'
Other general principles include the revitalisation of the regulatory and policy-making role of the ministries and the improvement of their decision-making mechanisms, and increasing of the efficiency of governmental bodies and upgrading of the level of the services provided.
Other principles include an improvement of the civil service, based on competence, effective Emiratisation and leadership training, empowering the ministries, in accordance with public and joint policies and reviewing and upgrading of existing legislation.
A key focus of the strategy is the maintaining of continuous co-operation between federal and local authorities, with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid noting that 'creating synergy between the federal and local governments is one of the most important vital elements of development' in the strategy.
In August, the Government of Abu Dhabi announced its own policy agenda for 2007 and 2008 which includes 18 independent policy statements providing details of plans in areas such as planning and economy, energy, tourism, health, education, labour, civil services, culture and heritage, food control, urban planning, transport, environment, health and safety, municipal affairs, police and emergency services, electronic government, women, and legislative reform.
The intention, according to the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is also the Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, is that " the publication of a comprehensive policy agenda will provide unprecedented understanding of the priorities and plans of the government.
For the private sector, the initiatives outlined in this agenda represent huge opportunities to operate in new sectors that were previously the traditional realm of the government.
For citizens and residents, the policy agenda signals a new era in accountability, transparency and government performance. The agenda is expected to enhance the spirit of teamwork among government departments, improving government performance and improving the quality of services delivered to residents of the emirate, as well as strengthening Abu Dhabi's ability to attract inward investment."
Another important development in Abu Dhabi was the launching in September of the 'Plan Abu Dhabi 2030: Urban Structure Framework Plan', which offers a bold and imaginative blueprint for the years ahead, specifying land uses, building heights and transportation objectives for the entire metropolitan area of Abu Dhabi, which is projected to grow to over three million people by 2030.
Amongst its significant proposals, the plan provides for the creation of a Capital District within Abu Dhabi City, which will become the seat of the federal and local governments as well as embassies and national health and educational institutions.
The plan also lays a heavy emphasis on the environment, with plans for green belts and the conservation of mangrove forests and birds and other wildlife. Implementation of the plan is to be overseen by the newly-created Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council.
Dubai, too, has developed its own long-term plan, the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015, based on the recognition that effective urban planning is a prerequisite for continued sustainable development.
Dubai's Urban Planning Committee is in the process of drawing up the Dubai Urban Development Framework (DUDF), an integrated master plan that will offer a comprehensive roadmap for Dubai's future up to 2020 and beyond, while Dubai's 'City and Regional Planning Framework', also under development, will include integrated land use and mobility, housing provision, economic and demographic growth, urban character and design, heritage management, integrated community facilities provision, civic harmony and sustainability strategy.
On a smaller scale, similar long-term strategic planning is taking place throughout the other five emirates that make up the UAE, all being designed to fit within the national objectives laid down in the federal UAE Government strategy.
The new federal and local strategies have been the topic of detailed discussions in the country's political institutions, including the UAE's Parliament, the Federal National Council, which has also undergone major reforms over the course of the past couple of years.
Eager to involve the country's citizens more actively in the processes of government, the President and his fellow members of the Supreme Council of Rulers, who had previously appointed all the members of the FNC, decided to introduce a process of indirect election for half of the members, who are now chosen by electoral colleges for each emirate.
One result of the process, as noted above, is that over 22 per cent of FNC members are now women ,a high proportion by world standards, but another has been a revitalisation of debates in the Council and of the way in which it exercises its constitutional function of examining, approving and proposing legislation. The long-term objective is to move towards a wholly-elected body.
INVESTMENTS: Against the backdrop of reforms in Government over the past year, the country's economy has continued to develop rapidly. One area that has attracted considerable international attention has been the way in which UAE firms, both Government-owned and privately-owned, have expanded their interests overseas through acquisitions and investment.
Thus the Mubadala Development Company and the International Petroleum Investment Company, IPIC, both owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi, and the Abu National Energy Company, TAQA, in which Government has a majority shareholding, have made numerous major investments overseas.
Through acquisitions, for example, TAQA has become one of the largest oil producers in Canada, with other interests in Europe and Asia, while IPIC has announced investments in upstream and downstream oil and petrochemical projects in Pakistan and Central Asia to complement its existing, widely-spread portfolio. Mubadala has also announced a number of major strategic partnerships, in sectors as widely diverse as the entertainment industry, oil and gas and the aircraft industry.
Dubai-based companies, too, have been active internationally, with a lead being taken by Dubai Ports World, now one of the world's largest port operators, thanks to a series of acquisitions, and Dubai Holding, both Government-owned, and by Emaar, now the largest property developer in North Africa and the Middle East, and rapidly extending its ambitions further afield.
While full details of the UAE's overseas investment for 2007 are not yet available, figures for 2006 suggest that it now ranks twenty-fifth in the world for its foreign investment - a remarkable achievement for such a small country.
GDP RECORDS 23.4%The focus of growth has, however, been at home, with nominal Gross Domestic Product growing by a remarkable 23.4 per cent to nearly 600 billion dirhams, or US $163 billion, in 2006, and set to rise at an even more impressive rate during 2007, partly because of high oil prices. The non-oil sector has, however, also recorded substantial growth, rising by 20.3 per cent to 376 billion dirhams ( US $102 billion) in 2006, with the real estate and business services and the building and construction sectors each increasing their contribution to overall GDP.
MEGA CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS: Both of these sectors have benefited directly from the construction boom, which has spread throughout the country. Much of the emphasis has been on the building of residential properties, with numerous specially-planned communities under development, such as the man-made Palm Islands off the coast of Dubai, but there has, too, been much development of prestigious office accommodation.
One iconic example of this is the impressive Burj Dubai (Dubai Tower), in the heart of the city's new business district, which became the world's tallest building during the course of the year - and was still rising as the end of the year drew near.
TOURISM: There has, too, been a continued rapid pace of development in the hotel and entertainment industry, driven by the fast-growing numbers of tourists coming from all over the world to visit the Emirates.
Tourism is already a crucial part of Dubai's economy, and is becoming of increasing importance of all of the other emirates, and is projected to rise over the next decade at well above the global growth rate. to visit the UAE. The industry already provides nearly 12 per cent of total employment in the country, or nearly 300,000 people, and jobs in this sector are expected to increase to over 375.,000 by 2016.
This, in turn, has fuelled growth in the country's aviation industry, with particular success stories being the two main national airlines, Dubai-based Emirates and Abu Dhabi's Etihad, as well as the low-cost carrier Air Arabia, each of whom have added numerous new destinations to their networks during the course of 2007.
One indication of the plans for future growth came at November's biennial Dubai Airshow, where Emirates alone placed confirmed orders for 93 new aircraft and options on a further 50 planes, with the total value being worth nearly US $35 billion, the largest-ever single order in aviation history.
A newcomer, Dubai Aerospace, which plans to enter the international aviation leasing market, signed initial agreements to order as many as 200 planes, which, when delivered, will make the government-owned enterprise one of the largest plane-leasing firms in the world. Air Arabia, placed orders and options for a total of 49 planes, in another multi-billion dollar deal.
To cope with the additional traffic, whether of planes or visitors, the UAE has continued during the year to invest heavily in the expansion of its airports. Over US $20 billion being spent on the upgrading of existing airports, such as those of Dubai, already a major hub for global air transport, and Abu Dhabi, and on the creation of the massive new Al Maktoum International Airport, south-west of Dubai, which, when completed in a couple of years time, will be the largest airport in the world.
Substantial investment is also continuing to go into the expansion of the country's ports, with a major new project, the Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone, now beginning to get under way north-east of Abu Dhabi.
TRADE: Overseas trade ,whether by sea or by air, remains an essential part of the economy, and, in keeping with the UAE's belief in facilitating the development of the global market, considerable progress has been made in terms of signing free trade agreements and bilateral preferential agreements with other countries.
While an agreement with the United States has temporarily been put on hold, substantial progress has been made on an agreement between the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council, which includes the UAE, and the European Union which is expected, when finalised, to double trade between the two groups.
Amidst the focus on the economy, however, attention has continued to be paid to two other topics that are viewed as high priority issues by both federal and local governments, conservation of the environment and the promotion of culture and heritage.
ENVIRONMENT: In the sphere of the environment, the country marked a first in 2007 with the inclusion of the important Marawah Marine Protected Area on the international list of Biosphere reserves maintained by the United Nations Educational Cultural and Scientific Organisation, UNESCO, the first UAE reserve to be accorded international status.
Developments in the sphere of culture and heritage have adopted the twin approach of both seeking to maintain and preserve the UAE's own heritage, always an important goal, and also of preparing to establish the country as a centre of global cultural importance.
A key part of this is the Saadiyat island cultural centre project being developed by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, which is designed to bring global culture to the Emirates. As part of this, agreements have been signed for the establishment on Saadiyat of branches of France's internationally-renowned Louvre Museum and of the Guggenheim Museum of the United States.
Other deals have included one with the New York Film Academy for the setting up of a local branch, as well as agreements with a number of top international academic institutions, such as the University of the Sorbonne in Paris and New York University.
The goal, now clearly in sight, is to ensure that not only will the UAE, and, in particular, its capital, Abu Dhabi, have world-class attractions to show its visitors, but also that its residents will be able to enjoy access to world-class facilities of a type that will equip them in cultural as well as educational terms to help in the building of a modern society that is closely rooted in its own heritage, but also well-aware of the very best that the rest of the world can offer.
This recognition of the need to look to the future is also recognisable in the initiatives taken during the year by the UAE to promote research into and the use of the very latest in terms of sustainable energy techniques.
Abu Dhabi's Masdar Initative, for example, conceived in partnership with several major international companies and academic institutions, has instituted pilot projects in photo-voltaics and solar energy and, in collaboration with the world-famous architectural practice of Foster and Partners, is planning to build a 'zero footprint', environmentally-sustainable township in the capital.
It is also examining other unconventional energy sources, looking forward to the day when the depletion of global oil and gas reserves will require a much greater focus on alternative energy.
Another important initiative, announced late in the year by the Government of Dubai, was a requirement that from 2008, all new buildings will have to be designed with energy conservation in mind.
FOREIGN POLICY: Amidst all of the development activity at home, the United Arab Emirates has also continued during the course of the last year to pursue an active foreign policy, based upon the guiding principles laid down by the founder of the state, the late Sheikh Zayed.
These incorporate a 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 affairs of others and the pursuit, wherever possible, of peaceful resolution of disputes, together with a support for international institutions, such as the United Nations.
Within the Arabian Gulf region, the UAE has continued to work to develop closer ties with its neighbours in the Arabian peninsula, through the Gulf Co-operation Council, GCC.
PEACE PROCESS IN MIDDLE EAST: At a regional level, the UAE Government has maintained its support for the Palestinians and has urged the international community, and the United Nations Security Council, in particular, to make the necessary efforts in association with the Arab Quartet of Foreign Ministers, including the UAE, to re-activate the stalled Middle East peace process.
The UAE continues to believe that the restoration of security, peace and stability in the region, as well as normalisation of relations between all countries, including Israel, cannot be achieved while Israeli occupation of the Palestinian and Arab territories continues and it, therefore, supports an ending of the occupation, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, and the right of refugees to return to their homeland within the context of a just and lasting peace agreement based upon the Arab peace initiative.
ARAB AND ISLAMIC ACTION AT WORK: The UAE continued to provide support to the Government of Iraq in its efforts to restore stability and security to the country. The UAE's Foreign Minister spelt out the UAE's views on the topic as follows:
'We reiterate our support for the efforts aimed at enabling Iraq to regain its security and to strengthen its national unity. We call on all Iraqis, regardless of political affiliation or social class, to actively participate in building a new Iraq'.
The UAE also continued to offer support to the Government of Lebanon following the devastating conflict in the summer of 2006, also working with the UN on a programme for the removal of cluster bombs and other munitions left behind by Israel as a result of that conflict.
No visible progress was made during the year on resolving the long-running dispute with neighbouring Iran on the question of its occupation of the three UAE islands of Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunb.
The UAE continues to look forward to an eventual resolution of the dispute and to hope that the Government of Iran will to refer the issue for adjudication to the International Court of Justice or to other forms of international arbitration. The UAE has also continued to express concern about Iran's nuclear power programme, and has sought reassurances that it is for peaceful purposes only.
Beyond the Arab world, the UAE has pursued a policy of seeking, wherever possible, to build friendly relations with other nations, both in the developing and in the industrialised world, and leading figures, including the President, the Vice President and Prime Minister, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and the Foreign Minister, have made numerous overseas visits to promote economic and political ties. Numerous world leaders have also visited the Emirates.
Another important feature of UAE foreign policy has been its support for international bodies, like the UN and its various agencies through which it seeks to reinforce the rule of international law, and to support the implementation of internationally agreed conventions, so as to protect the interests of the small, the weak and the powerless.
TERRORISM: Throughout the year, the UAE continued to extend all possible support to the international fight against terrorism, while emphasising the necessity both of a clear definition of terrorism and of ensuring that terrorism perpetrated by states should not be overlooked.
Support has been offered to countries suffering from terrorism, including collaboration in terms of exchanges of information designed to help law enforcement authorities track down and arrest suspects.
COMBATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING: Another important step taken during the year was the enforcement of legislation passed in 2006 to stamp out all trafficking in people, as defined under international conventions, with the first, stringent, sentences being handed down to those convicted.
HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE: Since the establishment of the UAE, the country has played an active role in the provision of aid to developing countries and has been a major contributor of emergency relief to regions affected by conflict and natural disasters.
One major initiative, launched by Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in October, was the 'Dubai Cares' campaign, Dubai's contribution to the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goal of achieving universal primary education by 2015. Nearly half a billion US dollars were raised in the campaign.
The focus of the country's emergency relief programme during much of 2007 continued to be on Lebanon and Palestine, with support coming not only from Government and non-governmental agencies, like the UAE Red Crescent, the Zayed Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation and the Mohammed bin Rashid Foundation, but also from individuals. The UAE Red Crescent and other UAE bodies have now contributed over two billion UAE dirhams (US $544 million) to humanitarian projects in Palestine alone.
Other support went to countries throughout Africa and Asia, for victims of famine, drought and other natural disasters, as well as those affected by conflict. The emergency relief programme is only one part of the way in which the UAE and its people display their commitment to share their own good fortune with other countries who are less well-endowed with natural resources.
Since the UAE was established, it has provided over US $70 billion in loans, grants and other assistance for development projects in some 95 countries throughout the world. The Government and people of the United Arab Emirates can look ahead to 2008 with confidence, in the knowledge that the fundamental strengths of the national economy, coupled with a wise leadership, will continue to permit them to record another year of progress and development.
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