Forward-looking

ABU DHABI, UAE: While news of that gruesome massacre in Maguindanao broke in the international media, we were attending an intensive media briefing along with journalists from all over the world at Abu Dhabi. That was an event too barbaric and too chilling to even attempt to explain to our international colleagues.

The briefing brought us face-to-face with the leaders and chief policy-makers of the Untied Arab Emirates. We were shown scale models of forthcoming property developments and allowed the opportunity to pose tough questions before the leaders of one of the most prosperous economies of the world.

The experience so far has been more than satisfying. The top policy-makers who faced us were articulate, conversant in the global issues and extremely talented.

Before we attended this program, we sort of saw the oil-rich Gulf states as being led by superficial aristocrats who thought little about investing their oil revenues in expensive showcases that were bound to go bankrupt. The two major cities of the UAE — Dubai and Abu Dhabi — we tended to perceive as nothing more than showcases of glitz. They built oversized hotels, installed world-class golf courses in the desert, built the most advance Formula 1 race track in the world and designed truly upscale residential areas.

It is easy to nurse such impressions. The Gulf states had embarked on ambitious infrastructure programs requiring investments that will eventually run into trillions of dollars. They have built the most newfangled cities on what was once barren land. The streets of Dubai and Abu Dhabi teem with the most exotic cars in the world.

The global recession caught the UAE on a lurch. Dubai must have millions of square feet of empty office and residential spaces. The frenetic building spree did not slow down. There are billions of dollars worth of property developments on stream.

A few days ago, news broke that Dubai was $80 billion in debt. For its part, Abu Dhabi has several mammoth development projects underway including the multi-billion dollar Yas Island luxury complex, the construction of an arts and culture complex that will house collections from the world’s greatest museums and several other zero-carbon communities. The museum complex is amazing and forms part of an international learning community the emirate plans to complete over the next few years.

One might think the leaders of the UAE would be completely stressed out and panicked by the recession and its potential impact on the head-long charge into large scale infrastructure development. Hundreds of billions of dollars, for instance, have been sunk into plans to build a rail system that will link the Gulf states from Qatar to the northern emirates.

We found the policy-makers of the UAE to be quite relaxed, however. In a series of briefings, journalists from every corner of the world pressed the ministers of the UAE with probing questions about, well, supply exceeding demand and financial troubles arising as a consequence.

We were all taken by the confidence exuded by the UAE ministers who faced us. That confidence was summed up by the attitude of H.E. Sheik Mohammad al Makhtoum himself when he faced the international press.

Makhtoum refuses to use the word “crisis” in describing the situation posed by the global recession. He preferred to use the word “challenges” in describing the set of circumstances that seem to seriously challenge the premises underpinning the dazzling investments in skyscrapers, rail lines and industrial zones. These “challenges”, said the ruler of Dubai, would not slow down the economy’s rush to be at the forefront of the new century.

His confidence is not without basis. All the planning and management in the UAE are done by a team of highly talented and skilled professionals. We left every briefing quite impressed by the quality of manpower recruited to govern this oil-rich economy.

To be sure, we did not at all expect the policy-making cadre and the institutions of governance to be so highly developed in the UAE. This is not at all a state squandering its oil wealth on misplaced investments. It is an economy moving forward quickly with a well-set plan.

We were all pleasantly surprised by the quality of policymakers the UAE has. They were articulate, conversant on the global issues and well-trained. I will not hesitate comparing them favorably with the ministers of Singapore.

The quality of the technocratic cadre the UAE has in place reflects the outcome of a decision taken early on to invest heavily in developing the human capital base of the emirates. When the UAE was formed 38 years ago, less than 5% of the population was literate. Today, the emirates have among the highest literacy rates in the world. They likewise have among the highest life expectancy rates.

In the course of the briefings we received, I found out how well-developed the institutions of governance have become in this country. Public health and education are among the best in the world. Citizens of the emirates are sent to the best universities abroad. Unlike the rest of the Arab world, women enjoy equal status in the UAE and now occupy some of the most senior positions in government and the corporations.

Both leaders and citizens exhibit a thoroughly pragmatic attitude towards business and politics. Again, the comparison with Singapore is inviting to draw. Although there is pride of place among its citizens, there is no trace of the ancient ideologies that we inherit from the last, troubled century. There was none of the Islamic fundamentalism that troubles other Arab states and none of the Arab nationalism that distracts some of their neighbors.

I was impressed not only by the quality of public servants but also by the quality of planning achieved by this young state. They had clear set policies for everything: from the financial regulatory framework to the assurance of a sustainable natural environment. The protection of endangered species and the reduction of carbon emissions benefit from well thought-out programs. This quality of governance assures the country’s future.