Dubai 2003 a big fillip for regional confidence

The flawless execution of the Dubai 2003 IMF and World Bank annual meetings is good for local and international business confidence, both within the UAE and for the region as a whole.

On the last day one protestor, a lady from London, turned up and became a minor celebrity. This was a far cry from the 120,000 protestors who laid siege to the IMF and World Bank in Prague. Whether she actually used the air-conditioned tent that the Dubai authorities had kindly provided for protesting purposes is not known.

More seriously, to stage this event at such a troubled time for the Middle East with Iraq and Palestine still mired in conflict, says something about the UAE as a safe haven and a regional business hub.

To the VIPs and their entourage it also showed another side to the Middle East, one that is not reported as frequently as the violence in the north of the region. For the UAE is a peaceful, tolerant, diversified business community with a multi-cultural population.

The UAE is also extremely successful economically. Standard Chartered Bank's latest forecast is for 8% GDP growth this year, alongside the fastest growing economies in the world. Business people in this trading community can feel justly proud to belong to such a dynamic and well organized society.

It is to be hoped that last week's 16,000 visitors carry home with them the impression that there is hope for the Middle East, that modernity does not just have a place but is actually doing rather well in the UAE.

Admittedly Qatar and Jordan are also following similar economic diversification policies with considerable effect. In addition, Bahrain and Kuwait are making great strides in economic reform. Even Saudi Arabia's new capital markets laws offer a beacon of hope to reformers.

The latest Middle East Focus from Standard Chartered Bank summed it up neatly, 'This has been a good economic year for the region. Global politics is a different matter'. That is a very diplomatic way of separating the desirable from the very undesirable.

However, we should all feel more confident about the future of the region after last week. Economic growth is strong, economic reform is working in many countries and the outlook for business is very good. Of course, things could always be better, and that is what we are all working for day-by-day.