'Tourism, services and a booming stock market offer more optimistic outlook for regional economy' says Dr. Kharbash

"In this region, we continue to enjoy the benefits of a healthy macroeconomic environment and, in developing a non-oil economy, the UAE has become a model for the entire Middle East" said Dr. Kharbash while speaking at the 3rd "Trade, Treasury and Cash Management in the Middle East" conference organised by EuroFinance. The conference will takes place today and tomorrow at the Grand Hyatt, Dubai.

"We believe that the UAE's contribution to global trade will get larger. Having recognised the benefits of technology to trade, the government and the growing private sector want to be active participants in efforts to increase global trade" Dr. Kharbash added.

Hailing the dialogue to create new operational standards for international commerce as a crucial one, Dr. Kharbash said "The private sector has always been alive to foreign entrepreneurs interested in business opportunities in the Middle East—today regional governments are more receptive to foreign direct investment than ever with new methods existing to make FDI easier; from options and derivatives, to management of various risk factors associated with interest rates, currencies and swaps".

Dr. Kharbash also noted that global businesses today sensed an opportunity for enhanced cross-border cooperation from the synergies offered by the on-line world. He said importers and exporters were implementing radical efficiencies through the time and cost savings afforded by information and communications technologies. "Bank treasury officials are exploiting the potential for international securities trading which allows liquidity mismatches to be reallocated at the speed of a keyboard click" he added.

He also stressed that the UAE has been proactive in its endeavour to introduce efficiencies throughout government. Dr. Kharbash stated that the UAE was aware of the possibilities of technology and had successfully introduced several initiatives in the public and private sectors including performance-based budgeting which was marrying the government's fiscal allocations to results rather than to expectations. "The establishment of e-government is making life easier for people in the UAE and the e-dirham programme allows the man in the street to pay for a range of government services with a single card and with a single transaction. He said adding that new technology will lead to increased transparency.