Dubai Economic Council conducts its 11th meeting

The meeting chaired by HE Juma Al Majed the Chairman of DEC, in attendance of HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, HE Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, HE Saqer Ghubash the Minister of Labor, and H.E. Khalid bin Sulayem, Director General Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM). The meeting was also attended by HE Sultan bin Sulayem, a number of DEC members, and HE Hani Al Hamli, DEC Secretary-general.

Juma Al Majed: "The importance of communication between the Ministry of Labor and business sector is to enhance the national economy."

In his opening speech, HE Juma Al Majed pointed out the importance of cooperation between the different economic activities from both public and private sector to serve the national economy. He also emphasized that the attendance of the Ministry of Labor in DEC's meeting is considered to be a ring of a series of coordination between the Ministry and local business sector to meet the later requirements and to enhance the economic development in the UAE.

HE Hani Al Hamli stated that inviting the Ministry of Labor and the Department of Tourism and Commercial Marketing to meet with DEC is a translation of the Council's mandates namely the strategic partner for the Government of Dubai in economic policy-making process. This is achieved by evocating sound economic policies with the participation of the business leaders and government officials, in order to adopt and support initiatives that positively influence Dubai's economic policies. This is to contribute in developing the necessary laws that improve the competitiveness of the business and investment environment whilst promoting innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership, in addition to raising views and recommendations in the participation of nationals in the labor force, including those related to guidance and training.

Minister of Labor: "Emiratization is on the top of priorities... Citizen is the axis of development."

HE Saqer Ghubash, the Minister of Labor stated the important role of the Ministry in coping with economic development in the UAE. He confirmed the Ministry endeavor to provide an enhanced business environment to push the development process in all fields. He also shed light on the wise leadership of the UAE to maintain the rights of employees, nationals and expatriates, to be in line with international standards.

HE Saqer Ghubash said:

"We are proud of the national private sector because of its achievements in all sectors."

He also stated that the Ministry of Labor keep mutual relations with the national economy, hence the links between the Ministry and Dubai Economic Council which represents different economic activities are continuously needed to be aware of the private sector concerns and requirements.

HE Saqer Ghubash: "The new vision of the Ministry of Labor: Transformation from routine transactions to labor market concept as a part of the national economy."

Ghubash then stated the new vision and the long-term strategy of the Ministry to bring to fruition the economic vision of the UAE.

"The Emiratization issue is linked to the pattern of the UAE economic development besides other factors like the education output-labor market input gap, and the pay variance between public and private sectors," he added.

The Minister of labor also demonstrated the latest developments in the local labor market. He started with the challenges facing the market, e.g. labor market unification, participation of citizens in the said market especially in the private sector, in addition to the availability of labor in the light of economic development requirements.

HE Ghubash presented some facts and figures about the sectoral distribution of labor in the UAE, the contribution of different economic sectors in GDP, and the imbalance in population structure. In this context, he confirmed the necessity to maintain the efforts to raise the Emiratization rate in the private sector.

Finally, the Minister of labor raised one central question "how can we move our choices towards a sustainable economic development and facing the challenges". He referred to HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Vice President and the UAE Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai's quote in the Federal Government Strategy, "We can harmonize the development strategies and population situation therapy if we well-manage restructuring the national economy to be knowledge-based one."

The door of discussion then opened to the Council's members. Most questions and interventions raised focused on bank guarantees, companies' classification standards, Emiratization in private sector, fees imposed by the Ministry of Labor on companies, employee's movement within local labor market, and the impacts of expatriates on the UAE cultural scene.

In his turn, HE Ghubash answered all questions. He confirmed the Ministry's desire to release rules and regulations that meet the business community's requirements, and to provide excellence services to smooth the transactions.

Finally, HE Ghubash stressed that the proposed classification of companies relies on their sectors' contribution to the GDP.

Khalid bin Sulayem: "Positive indicators of Dubai's tourism despite the global financial crunch impacts.."

HE Khalid bin Sulayem, Director General, Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM)- Government of Dubai presented the department's plans and programs to confront the impacts of the global financial crisis. He stated that crisis hit the global tourism movement but its impacts on Dubai's tourism are less compared to many other countries. "One evidence is the number of visitors to Dubai which increased from 6.9 million in 2007 to 7.5 million in 2008."

HE Khalid bin Sulayem also compares the hotels performance in Dubai between 2008 and the Q1 2009. He mentioned that the growth average of guests was 5% during the period which is considered "good" given the present situation in many advanced tourist countries. The growth rate of the number of hotels and hotel apartment arrives at 9%, and the number of rooms available was 17%. Bin Sulayem confirmed these achievements were the results of a number of factors such as initiatives made by the Government of Dubai to face the impacts of the global crisis and its continuous support to the tourism sector, political and security stability, modern infrastructure availability, etc. Nevertheless, bin Sulayem highlighted the challenges facing the Dubai's tourism such as the rate of rooms.

The DTCM's director-general also mentioned other indicators of Dubai's tourism, such as the occupancy rate. He revealed that the average of this indicator since 2004 till March 2009 was 81% which is the highest compared to many other cities and countries like London, Paris, New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Vienna, and others.

Bin Sulayem also revealed the DTCM's policies to face the impacts of the global financial crisis. He pointed out that the department has participated in 23 international fairs in entertainment and business tourism, in addition to 130 activities organized abroad. Additionally, the department organized 9 workshops in Saudi Arabia, India, Baltic States, Japan, and GCC.

HE bin Sulayem stressed that the department crafted short and long-term strategies to restore the tourism sector viability under the present global downturn. The main policies taken in this context are advertising and promotion campaigns, activation of its business group to confront the crisis impacts, conducting research and studies on global markets, organizing forums with entities operating in Dubai's tourism sector, etc.

At the end of the presentation, HE Juma Al Majed extended his appreciation to DTCM for its role to enhance the location of Dubai in global tourism map. Al Majed stated that tourism is regarded a central sector for many economies for its contribution in the national income and employment rate.

The Council's members raised some questions about the present situation and horizons of Dubai's tourism. The main questions focused on fees imposed by DTCM, rates of tourist services particularly the rate of rooms, tourist visas transactions, and the impacts of tourism movement on Dubai's local culture.

In his turn, bin Sulayem addressed on these concerns. He asserted that the department rallies to enhance the competitive advantage of the tourism sector by adopting sound policies and strategies.

He also confirmed that the department has a complement agenda to encourage tourism and targeting global markets. This includes coordination with the tourism sector and travel agents representatives. Additionally, the department would provide more facilities to tourists and visitors. "One of the most active arrangements the DTCM adopted recently is the substantial cut in cost of foreign activities relating to the exhibitions and festivals conducted in Dubai," he added.

Finally, bin Sulayem asserted the important role of DTCM to preserve the cultural identity of Dubai and the UAE. He stated that the department adopted comprehensive program for this purpose, such as circulating handbooks and publications in airports and through the travel agents. He confirmed the fruitful results in this field.

At the end of meeting, the Council attained some policy recommendations on the issues discussed to be forwarded to the Government of Dubai.