Dubai:
The World Economic Forum says that the UAE region
that has profited from a flood of investment, has become
the most competitive economy in the Arab world.
According
to Margareta Drzeniek Hanouz, an economist who co-authored
the survey of 13 Arab states that the forum released
at a two-day meeting of Arab business leaders in the
neighbouring Gulf state of Qatar, the UAE ranked first
because of the highly developed infrastructure, particularly
air and sea ports.
"The
important contributor is the efficiency in the government
spending and government regulations as well as the efficiency
in the labour market, due to a lot of imported labour,"
Hanouz added.
But
the Emirates is not the most competitive economy in
the Middle East; the biennial survey said the top slot
was occupied by Israel, which ranks globally at the
and Israel is 15th place.
Qatar
is the second most competitive Arab economy followed
by Kuwait. Globally, the Emirates ranks 29th, just ahead
of Portugal and behind Spain.
Most
Arab economies have soared in the past five years despite
the war in Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and
the brief but ferocious battle in Lebanon last year.
Many Arab countries are enjoying the fastest growth
rates seen for 30 years, the report said.
The
World Economic Forum said Egypt, Tunisia and Oman had
grown more competitive because of progress in their
infrastructure, education and labour markets.
This
year''s report has for the first time assessed Libya,
Oman and Syria for the first time.
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