UAE should be more than just a port of call

Menudo is a Puerto Rican band that was founded in the late 1970s. The band came about after a producer enjoyed success with the management of a Spanish teen group called La Pandilla from 1973-1976. He returned to Puerto Rico with the intention of forming a new boy band in which the members would be replaced as they grew older. He resolved that the group's members would have to make way when they reached the age of 16, their voices changed, they grew facial hair, or grew too tall. In a sense, this is a brand rather than a band. Its product is flexible but its message remains the same; this is a marketer's dream.

So why am I talking about Menudo? Well, because the UAE's business model is very similar to that of the band. The UAE basically tells you that you are welcome to come here and give it your best shot, build yourself a life, get a good job, start a business, make Dh10 million, find a partner, buy a house and have children - but leave at 60.

This rule was drafted a long time ago. The times have changed and the UAE no longer aims to make money by simply re-exporting goods. We are now a self-proclaimed centre for a region that stretches to Central Asia and West Africa. We are undergoing a testing transformation from commercial centre to civil society and, most importantly, we aim to become a home as opposed to a transient state. We have great expectations indeed. But however great they may be, we must not shy away from them. We must not be hindered by archaic rules and regulations that were drafted for different times, different demographics and certainly different ambitions.