UAE ranks first in Arab Region among emerging economies

DUBAI: The UAE ranked the first Arab country and third among 27 emerging global economies, and 23rd globally among 123 countries in the Future Readiness Index report, issued by the Portulans Institute in partnership with Google.

The report aims to provide countries with a valuable tool to measure their future readiness, and serve as a guide to their strategy choices and policy decisions.

Results of the Future Readiness Index were announced during a virtual session titled “Innovative Tools to Improve a Digital Future”, held as part of the 11th edition of the Concordia Annual Summit 2021.

The session witnessed participation of Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and The Future, along with Tan Kiat How, Minister of Communications and Information – Republic of Singapore; Kent Walker, Senior Vice President of Global Affairs – Google; Kate Wilson, CEO of Digital Impact Alliance at the United Nations Foundation; and moderated by Bruno Lanvin, Co-founder of the Portulans Institute.

Speakers highlighted the most pressing challenges and opportunities in the post COVID-19 era, and the need to enhance readiness and agility of digital transformation through adopting modern technology, attracting and growing talent, and driving innovation.

Ohood Al Roumi: Comprehensive review of frameworks, legislations and policies Ohood Al Roumi stressed that the UAE’s high performance on the future readiness indicators reflects the ambitious vision and philosophy of the UAE’s leadership to prepare for the future and embrace innovation as the cornerstone of comprehensive development. Accelerating digital transformation has played a critical role in ensuring business and services continuity amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, providing a new array of innovative services, she added.

She said that the current trends in digital transformation require a comprehensive review of government work, the legislative and legal system, and related infrastructure.

She explained that the UAE has announced the “Principles of the 50” and “Projects of the 50” as part of its sustained efforts to promote future readiness. The 10 principles act as a roadmap for the future and focus on building the best and most dynamic economy in the world, investing in human capital, developing the educational system, recruiting talent and continuously building skills, as well as promoting digital, technical and scientific excellence of the UAE.

Top Ranks on Future Readiness Indicators The report commended the UAE’s performance on the future readiness indicators, where it ranked third among 27 emerging economies representing the best performance on the overall index.

The index measures four main pillars namely, institutions and infrastructure, technology, talent, and innovation. The main pillars include 15 sub-pillars that monitor governments’ ability to prepare for the future, embrace digital transformation, invest in human capital, attract talent, and invest in research and development, among others.

The UAE secured leading positions on the main pillars of the index, and ranked among the highest performing economies in all pillars and sub-pillars.

It ranked third globally in the pillar monitoring skills and the use of modern technologies, fourth globally in attracting talent, and sixth globally in growing talent.

It also ranked among the top 30 countries worldwide in 10 sub-pillars focusing on readiness, agility, technology, digital transformation, and investment in human capital.

Compared to the 27 emerging economies on the index, the UAE achieved leading positions in the four main pillars, ranking second in both “Institutions & Infrastructure” and “Talent” pillars, third in “Technology” and fourth in “Innovation”, making it ahead of China, Russia and India.