Abu Dhabi’s Foreign Assistance Steals Spotlight - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Abu Dhabi’s Foreign Assistance Steals Spotlight - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East:

"In order to understand Abu Dhabi’s regional and international financial-assistance programs, one must consider another aspect of the story that is little discussed. Abu Dhabi’s internal assistance program is perhaps where the real story lies. Although Abu Dhabi’s foreign assistance is widely known, the internal dynamics of the UAE are not as clear to outside observers. Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s capital, sits on vast oil reserves that it has used prudently to the benefit of others. In fact, Abu Dhabi is the world’s only federal capital that almost entirely subsidizes the budget of the rest of the country, and without collecting any income taxes whatsoever.

In the 1970s, Abu Dhabi was essentially the sole contributor to the budget of the UAE, with Dubai stepping in in the early 1980s when petroleum revenues had fallen and the UAE suffered its first budget deficit. This contribution from Abu Dhabi to its federal partners over the past 42 years easily amounts to several tens of billions of dollars and exceeds the foreign-assistance numbers."

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