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On Dec. 2, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) celebrated 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 center, 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 reelected 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.
Economy
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.
Women hold over 22 percent of the seats, one of the highest figures in the world. There are also two female Cabinet Ministers.
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 40 years, the total population of the country has risen from around 250,000 to around 4.25 million.
Of these, only around 20 percent 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.
Although exploitation of the oil and gas reserves provide much of the funds for government investment, it has always been recognized 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 $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.
Against the backdrop of reforms in government over the past year, the country's economy has continued to develop rapidly.
Investment
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 a field.
While full details of the UAE's overseas investment for 2007 are not yet available, figures for 2006 suggest that it now ranks 25th in the world for its foreign investment ― a remarkable achievement for such a small country.
The focus of growth has, however, been at home, with nominal gross domestic product growing by a remarkable 23.4 percent to nearly 600 billion dirhams, ($163 billion), in 2006, and set to rise at an even more impressive rate during 2007, partly because of high oil prices.
Growth in non-oil sector
The non-oil sector has, however, also recorded substantial growth, rising by 20.3 percent to 376 billion dirhams ($102 billion) in 2006, with the real estate and business services and the building and construction sectors each increasing their contribution to overall GDP.
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.
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.
Formed in 1971 from seven emirates, Abu Dhabi, which is the seat of the capital, Dubai, the country's commercial center, 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 reelected 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.
Economy
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.
Women hold over 22 percent of the seats, one of the highest figures in the world. There are also two female Cabinet Ministers.
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 40 years, the total population of the country has risen from around 250,000 to around 4.25 million.
Of these, only around 20 percent 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.
Although exploitation of the oil and gas reserves provide much of the funds for government investment, it has always been recognized 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 $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.
Against the backdrop of reforms in government over the past year, the country's economy has continued to develop rapidly.
Investment
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 a field.
While full details of the UAE's overseas investment for 2007 are not yet available, figures for 2006 suggest that it now ranks 25th in the world for its foreign investment ― a remarkable achievement for such a small country.
The focus of growth has, however, been at home, with nominal gross domestic product growing by a remarkable 23.4 percent to nearly 600 billion dirhams, ($163 billion), in 2006, and set to rise at an even more impressive rate during 2007, partly because of high oil prices.
Growth in non-oil sector
The non-oil sector has, however, also recorded substantial growth, rising by 20.3 percent to 376 billion dirhams ($102 billion) in 2006, with the real estate and business services and the building and construction sectors each increasing their contribution to overall GDP.
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.
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.
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