Private sector will also be encouraged to take part in government efforts to cement UAE's future
The UAE government’s latest initiative to build a comprehensive plan for the next 50 years is expected boost business confidence in the country, analysts confirm.
In a series of tweets on Saturday, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai made the announcement and said: “The UAE is approaching its fiftieth anniversary in 2021 and we want it to be the year of fresh-starts and new-beginnings. We will celebrate our country’s 50th anniversary and launch into another fifty. We will get ready for that in 2020. Next year will be the year of preparation for great strides”.
Two committees will be created to come up with a comprehensive 50-year development plan and oversee the Golden Jubilee celebrations.
“Today, we announce 2020: Towards the next 50.” We shall develop our plans and projects, and reinvent new ideas,” Mohammad bin Rashid said.
The latest developments in the UAE will provide the private sector the necessary opportunity to play a part in making the UAE a truly global, flexible and attractive economy so that it will be prepared to face the challenges and provide solutions for the society at large, according to Tariq Chaudhry, clients and markets director at Grant Thornton.
Thornton said that with the unveiling of the “2020: Towards the next 50” vision, there will be several initiatives, investments and platforms that will be rolled out as the strategy unfolds. And this will help guide stakeholders in the UAE and other people who want to be a part of the journey over the next coming years and decades.
While 2020 is already earmarked to be a major milestone and will be a “year that will go down in history for UAE,” Chaudhry said making preparations for the next 50 years further demonstrates the UAE leadership’s “unrelentless ambition” to cement the future of the UAE.
“[This] will provide a significant confidence boost that will help coordinate efforts from the private sector, government institutions, as well as the people of the UAE to work towards building a better future,” he told Zawya.com.
Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer of Century Financial, said no other country in the world plans for the future like the UAE does and this in itself a testimony to the vision of its rulers.
“In the context of UAE, planning is very important as the country has to prepare for post-oil future and the world also is at the doorstep of many breakthroughs technologies in the field of 5G, artificial intelligence and renewable energy,” Valecha told Zawya.com.
“Gaining a foothold in these key technologies can propel the UAE to the forefront of comity of nations,” he added.
The UAE economy has been facing challenges posed by external factors, including the US-China trade conflict, as well as geopolitical and other global issues.
Business conditions in the UAE’s non-oil private sector posted their weakest growth in over ten years in November, but private companies are still optimistic for the year ahead.
Government officials have said that the country has been able to limit the negative impact that has been felt by other economies and will continue to do so.
