It used to be said among analysts that the Gulf spent too much time in the comfort zone of its reliable energy resources to commit properly to developing other forms of economic growth. Only the pressure of low oil prices spurred those efforts, as an apparent necessity. And when oil prices picked up, the incentive for structural change went missing again.
However, non-oil industrialisation has made ground, and in the distinct case of Dubai the prior rationale for creating an economy based on trade and tourism, and commerce generally, has been rediscovered.
Across the region, a set of buzzwords -- liberalisation, deregulation, governance, integration -- have become commonplace, linked by the idea of conforming with international expectations, with the motivation of attracting overseas interest, expertise and finance.
No comments:
Post a Comment