UAE 17th in WEF’s global competitiveness rankings

'The UAE’s excellent macroeconomic environment, highly developed infrastructure and strong institutions provide a solid base.'

The UAE scored highly on infrastructure in the WEF global competitiveness report. Pawan Singh / The National
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The World Economic Forum (WEF) has singled out the Emirates’ economy as being “significantly more diversified than other GCC countries” in its latest ranking of states according to their competitiveness.

The WEF global competitiveness report ranked this country 17th in the world, scoring highly on infrastructure, the strength of its institutions and its power as a trading hub. “The UAE’s excellent macroeconomic environment, highly developed infrastructure and strong institutions provide a solid base,” the report for 2015 said.

“The UAE has benefited from high levels of openness to trade and investment, which ensure intense competition and high levels of innovation. Its business environment is welcoming to investment and characterised by regulations that are easy to comply with, a fairly efficient labour market and the presence of sophisticated businesses,” it added.

The ranking is down from last year, when the UAE achieved 12th, the highest ever position of any Middle East country by the WEF. “The drop in rank is a result of the new availability of an indicator on tertiary education, which led to a significant drop in the assessment of higher education and training,” the WEF said.

It added that the tertiary education indicator was likely to underestimate the real number of UAE students at university level courses, because it did not include those studying abroad. Many Emirati students complete their academic studies elsewhere.

“The country will have to continue its gradual path of fiscal consolidation to ensure that its fiscal position remains strong despite the drop in oil prices; the recent decision to abolish energy subsidies is a step in the right direction,” the WEF said.

“The UAE will also need to strengthen its capacity for innovation, including upgrading scientific research,” the report added.

The top three positions in the competitiveness table were unchanged from last year, with Switzerland, Singapore and the United States claiming the highest places.

Germany moved up one slot to fourth, while the Netherlands leapt three positions to eighth. Japan, Hong Kong, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom completed the top 10 rankings.

Qatar was the highest ranking Middle East country in 14th. The WEF said that Qatar “remains more at risk than its neighbour [the UAE] to continued low energy prices, as its economy is less diversified.” Saudi Arabia was in 25th position.

“These strong performances contrast starkly with countries in North Africa, where the highest placed country is Morocco [72nd], and the Levant, which is led by Jordan [64th]. With geopolitical conflict and terrorism threatening to take an even bigger toll, countries in the region must focus on reforming the business environment and strengthening the private sector,” the WEF report said.

fkane@thenational.ae

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