Dubai has been quick to adapt to the introduction of e-commerce and the rapid technological development of recent years. The establishment of Dubai Internet City, in October 2000, and Dubai Media City, in January 2001, has ensured that the majority of the world's major business players have a presence in Dubai.
Both these establishments offer their clients state-of-the-art infrastructure and many business incentives. Together with Dubai Knowledge Village they make up the Dubai Technology, E- Commerce and Media Free Zone, a central feature of the plans for Dubai's future.
This free zone is also helping to introduce the next generation of leaders in the Al Maktoum family to their responsibilities; the chairman is Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Sheikh Mohammed's third son.
Information technology has not only been incorporated into Dubai's trade and industry, but also into its education system and its government. The Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid IT Education Project ensures that the youth of Dubai, and the UAE as a whole, will be familiar with the latest technology when they leave school, and that there will, therefore, be qualified nationals ready to take up employment in the IT industry.
The e-government project is another vital part of the Al Maktoum family's plans for the future. The Dubai e-government portal opened in October 2001, giving Dubai the world's first fully online government. The people of Dubai can now use the Internet to renew and apply for all kinds of licences, pay fines, request information and much more.
Dubai has also moved into the world of international finance, with the opening, in February 2002, of the Dubai International Financial Centre, which Sheikh Mohammed announced would, "be a bridge for financial services between our region and the international markets 24 hours a day and 7 days a week." He added, "This centre will provide an ideal business environment based on a highly developed infrastructure and control regulations and laws that rival the latest and most competent regulations and laws world-wide."
It is hard to imagine any other city in the world having developed a tourism industry as vibrant as Dubai's in such a short time. Before 1990, Dubai International Airport was always busy, but the majority of passengers were in transit. Now, millions of them each year stay in Dubai for their holidays, and the airport is even busier. In 2001 the state-of-the-art Sheikh Rashid Terminal opened to cater for the increase in passengers.
The Maktoum brothers have introduced many initiatives to attract more visitors to Dubai, the most famous of which is the Dubai Shopping Festival - an annual month-long event during which the majority of Dubai's stores offer considerable discounts on their goods.
One of the most popular features of the Shopping Festival is the Global Village, where various countries take the opportunity to showcase their heritage through exhibitions of traditional handicrafts, clothing, food, music and dance. Each country has its own pavilion and, every evening throughout the Shopping Festival, crowds flock to the Village to enjoy this perfect example of Dubai's cosmopolitan nature.
In recent years, Dubai has also witnessed the development of some of the world's most well appointed and architecturally accomplished hotels. Emirates Towers, which opened in 2000, now overshadow the World Trade Centre on Sheikh Zayed Road, and, on a man-made island just off the shore of Jumeirah, the world's tallest hotel, the Burj Al Arab, stands. This building, built to resemble the sail of a traditional Arabian dhow, is the centrepiece of Dubai's tourism industry, offering the most luxurious accommodation imaginable.
Despite the recent success that Dubai has enjoyed in this area, the Maktoum brothers have shown that they share their father's trait of striving for continual improvement by stating their aim to increase the number of tourists visiting Dubai annually from three million to six million by the year 2010.
Projects such as Dubai Festival City - a waterfront development that will combine entertainment, dining, shopping, a marina, hotels, offices and residential apartments - and
-- The Palm - an ambitious plan to create three man-made islands in the shape of palm trees to increase Dubai's coastline - demonstrate their commitment to this goal.
PROFILE OF H. H. SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN RASHID AL MAKTOUM:
-- H.H Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al-Maktoum was born in 1949.
-- Studied in the U.A.E & Scotland, Graduated from Mones Military College in Britain.
-- Took command of Dubai Police in 1968.
-- Became Minister of Defense in 1971.
-- Became Crown Prince of Dubai on 4th of January 1995.
-- Became vice President of the U.A.E., Prime Minister, Ruler of Dubai on 5th January 2006.
-- H.H Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al-Maktoum established a number of programs and proceedings which aim at achieving excellence in development & improving the level of managerial performance and enhancing the concepts of management quality in all forms of work, eg Dubai's program for distinguished governance (September 1997) & Duabi's quality program.
-- Dedicated many awards for development of leadership skills & Arabian Management which contributed to upgrading the work of the media like the Arabian Management Award and the Arabian Media Award etc.
-- Established many institutions and programs which support youth projects and nurturing womens leadership capabilities and various others.
-- Established some of the largest companies in the Middle East like: Emirates Airlines, Dubai Holding, Dubai Ports World, Emaar, Nakheel and others.
Published three books; Mohammad bin Rashid Al-Maktoum's Poems (1990), Poems of the Evening (1997) and My Vision (2006).