gulfnews : Positioning Abu Dhabi on the new Silk Road

The ancients who walked the Silk Road navigated vast distances and risked their lives to transport the most coveted materials of the day. They followed not roads or sign posts, but an array of arteries marked by mountains, seas and stars. In facilitating this trade, these civilisations shared far more than resources — they shared ideas, innovations and philosophies.

Today, silk and spices don't drive economies, but ideas do. As we look at modern trade, it is clear a new virtual Silk Road connects the world and, like the Silk Road of old, its routes are clearly delineated by leading economic powers, from the USA, to Europe and onwards to China and Japan.

Singapore, Finland, and Korea are some of the notable recent additions to this path, having transformed their economies to thrive on the trade of knowledge and ideas in just one generation. These are nations that lead in innovation, which bring the philosophy of science, technology and innovation to the core of their economies and whose new ideas drive trade and progress and global competitive advantage while advancing their societies at the same time.

* username: rupertbu