Fifty-one success stories celebrating five decades of UAE innovation

The UAE passport is ranked No.1 in the world by the 2022 Passport Index of Arton Capital, a global financial consultancy, mirroring the respect the country has earned at regional and international levels.

The UAE ranked first on the Passport Index’s “Global Passport Power Rank” and “Individual Passport Power Rank.”

This success was achieved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, which launched the “UAE Passport Force” initiative aimed at making the document among the five most powerful ones in the world by 2021, a deadline beaten by three years.

The ranking is based on freedom of movement and visa-free travel for passport holders, and reflects the country’s image abroad as a place of prudence, moderation, coexistence and peace, in addition to tourism and enjoying economic, developmental and even humanitarian benefits.

The UAE passport enables its holder to enter no less than 175 countries. Of these, 119 countries can be entered without a prior visa and 55 countries whose visas can be obtained online or on arrival, beating the passports of countries competing for the second spot, namely Germany, Sweden, Finland, Luxembourg, Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and South Korea.

This “Mobility Score” is a standard metric of measurement, and typically the first factor to be considered among all indexes. It is determined by a total of factors including electronic travel authorization (eTA), visa-free (VF), and visa-on-arrival (VOA) capability.

From October 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, Expo 2020 Dubai hosted a mega international event in terms of scale, duration and visitor count. Expo 2020 was the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, and the first to be hosted by an Arab state.

The expo site covered 438 hectares and boasted the world’s largest 360-degree projection dome. The Al Wasl Plaza dome, which stood 67.5 meters tall and 130 meters wide, acted as a sun cover in daytime and transformed the night into a colorful canvas covering the sky with cinematic projections.

Expo 2020 also had the world’s largest passenger lift, which could carry approximately 160 people simultaneously. DEWA supplied the expo with 464 megawatts of renewable energy from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest of its kind in the world.

On the business side of things, Expo 2020 awarded $1.8 billion worth of contracts to 2,150 SMEs, or over a fourth of all expo contracts in value.

The expo reached a milestone of 24 million visits. About 70 percent of the total visitor numbers were from the UAE. The majority of the 760 overseas SME suppliers came from the U.K. (24 percent), the U.S. (16 percent), as well as 4 from each of France, India and Australia.

Over 32,000 events and attractions involved world leaders, great innovations, sporting heroes, Grammy-award winning artists, ground-breaking architecture and Arab superstars.

The UAE promoted the principles of inclusiveness, tolerance and collaboration during the expo.

In November 2021, the UAE was named the safest country for people to walk at night after scoring 95 percent, according to The Gallup Global Law and Order 2021 report. The UAE also came second in the highest law and order index, deeming it the second-safest country in the world after Norway, scoring 93 and 94 points respectively.

In 2022, another high ranking came in a safety index of 134 countries compiled by Global Finance magazine, showing Abu Dhabi being named the world’s safest city for the sixth consecutive year. The 10 safest countries also include Sharjah (4) and Dubai (8), placing them ahead of cities like Zurich and Monaco. Abu Dhabi has a safety index of 88.4. It cemented its position as a safe and secure place to live, work and invest. Abu Dhabi is rated “very low” for crime, fear of theft or robbery, and drug use. It scored “very high” on feeling safe walking alone.

Strict criminal laws make the UAE one of the safest countries in the Middle East for tourists who enjoy clean, safe and monitored public transportation in the city.

In August 2022, the UAE was ranked the second-safest country in the world by the World Economic Forum (WEF), up one position from 2016.

This reputation as a safe and modern city has contributed to the UAE’s 2022 ranking as the sixth-best country out of 52 destinations for expatriates to live and work, according to a new survey by global network InterNations. About 94 percent of UAE respondents said they were happy with the level of personal safety in the Emirates compared with 81 percent globally.

On July 20, 2020, at 2 a.m. Dubai Time, the UAE Mars Probe was launched from Tanegashima​ Space Centre​, Japan, traveling at a cruising distance of 493.5 million kms, for a mission duration of one Martian Year (about two Earth years). Launched in conjunction with the nation’s 50th anniversary in December 2021, the probe’s mission is to understand the structure and variability of hydrogen and oxygen in the upper atmosphere, as well as to determine why Mars is losing them into space.

The Emirates Mars Mission, also called Hope, reached the Red Planet seven months later and successfully entered orbit around Mars on February 9, 2021. Following a few months in orbit, the mission began its scientific observations.

“Hope” was the first probe to provide a complete picture of the Martian atmosphere and its layers and will help understand climate dynamics and global weather maps. Hope is the UAE’s first mission beyond Earth’s orbit.

The spacecraft’s arrival made the UAE the fifth entity to successfully reach the Red Planet, joining NASA, the Soviet Union, the European Space Agency and India; China joined the group just one day after the UAE with its Tianwen-1 mission.

Since Hope’s arrival, the UAE has made it clear that a successor mission will attempt to reach the asteroid belt.

The UAE had launched its National Space Program under which the country will prepare Emirati cadres specialized in airspace sciences. The National Space Program is part of the UAE’s objectives of building the first settlement on Mars by 2117 and overseeing the realization of the first scientific city on the Red Planet.

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, located on Yas Island in the Emirati capital, is the world’s first Ferrari-themed indoor park featuring Formula Rossa, the world’s fastest roller coaster. It is also home to the world’s highest loop ride as well as the tallest space-frame structure ever built on the planet. The foundation stone for the park was laid on November 3, 2007.

Developed by Aldar Properties and constructed by BESIX Group subsidiary Six Construct, the park took three years to develop until it was officially opened to the public on November 4, 2010.

Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi is the world’s largest Indoor theme park in the capital owned and developed by Miral Asset Management at an expected cost of $1 billion. The park features characters from Warner Bros.’ franchises such as Looney Tunes, DC Comics, Hanna-Barbera and others. The park is located on Yas Island near Ferrari World, Yas Waterworld and CLYMB Abu Dhabi, and is the third Warner Bros. theme park. An adjoining hotel is also being built at the center of Yas Island.

The theme park is indoor and fully air-conditioned, as is typical of most major theme parks in the region due to high summer temperatures. Standing at 1.65 million sq. ft., Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi was named the world’s largest indoor theme park by Guinness World Records in 2019.

At over 828 meters and reaching 162 stories, Burj Khalifa holds the world record for being the tallest building in the world, as well as the tallest free-standing structure in the world. Additional records include having the highest number of stories with the highest occupied floor in the world. The tower has the highest outdoor observation deck in existence, the highest aluminum and glass façade, and the elevator with the longest travel distance, not to mention the tallest service elevator ever. The tower is also home to the world’s highest library (on level 123).

Burj Khalifa has 185,000 m2 of residential space (1,000+ apartments) and over 28,000 m2 (49 floors) of office space. The building contains a 160-room Armani Hotel with the world’s highest swimming pool, located on the 76th floor.

Burj Khalifa has 57 elevators and eight escalators. The curtain wall of the tower is the equivalent of 25 American football fields in size and the tower can hold in the region of 10,000 people at any given point in time.

At the peak of construction, more than 12,000 people were working on site, requiring 22 million people hours in order to achieve completion in January 2010.

Construction also used three of the world’s largest cranes and used at least 45 different types of stone. It is made of over 11 million cubic feet of concrete.

The huge tower featured alongside Tom Cruise in “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol,” which was the fourth “Mission Impossible” film in the series. The stunt scene from the movie featured Burj Khalifa.

Opened on November 11, 2017, Louvre Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island is the first museum of its kind in the Arab region and offers a new perspective on the history of art in a globalized world.

The inaugural installation presented across 6,400 m2 of galleries presented 600 works of art, half from its own rich holdings, and half consisting of stellar works visiting from its 13 affiliate museums in France, the partner country in this project.

The centerpiece of the museum is a huge silvery dome that appears to float above the city, but actually weighs around 7,500 tons.

Louvre Abu Dhabi is surrounded by water, and allows visitors to arrive by land or sea. Visitors can explore the 55 buildings, of which 23 are galleries. They are architecturally inspired by the low-rise homes of the region.

Along the exterior walkways, visitors can take a break, think about and discuss the artworks, as well as enjoy the ever-changing relationship between sun, sea, art and architecture.

Louvre Abu Dhabi is visited by approximately 15,000 people daily. The museum has welcomed more than 3 million visitors over the past five years, including the years of travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leonardo da Vinci’s “Saint John the Baptist” recently found a new but temporary home at the museum where the masterpiece will be on display for the next two years. The painting is on loan from Paris’ Musee de Louvre.

Ain Dubai is 250 meters tall, has 192 cables with a length of 2,400 km, and boasts 48 Hi-Tech cabins.

Requiring around 11,200 tons of steel to build, the world’s biggest and tallest Ferris Wheel is located on Bluewaters Island, offering unobstructed views of the Dubai skyline.

In comparison, the U.K.’s London Eye is only around 134 meters tall, while the High Roller in Las Vegas, which had held the title of tallest Ferris Wheel in the world for nearly a decade, only reaches a height of 167 meters.

Ain Dubai can also hold a record number of 1,750 passengers simultaneously (the High Rollers’ is 1,120), and where a single wheel rotation takes around 38 minutes to complete.

Considered an amazing feat of construction, each leg of the wheel stands 126 meters high while the weight of the assembled hub and spindle is equivalent to four A380 aircraft.

Officials in Dubai first gave developers the green light to build the record-breaking ride in 2013 as part of a larger project to increase tourism in the area.

A series of delays ensued, including the COVID-19 outbreak, which meant the launch date was postponed until October 2021. The venue is attractive all year round but especially during the New Year, when in 2021 it provided unequalled views of Dubai during fireworks celebrations. According to its website, Ain Dubai is closed for maintenance until the first quarter of 2023 to allow the completion of enhancement works.

The UAE is known for being the capital of peculiarities and architectural records. One of the most ambitious projects was the construction of the Palm Islands, which was later joined by The World and The Universe archipelagos, currently under construction.

Palm Islands is made up of Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira. These man-made islands have increased Dubai’s beach area by 320 km. Palm Jumeirah is the most developed of the three, while Deira received its first visitors in December 2020 and Jebel Ali is still being developed.

Palm Jumeirah is a tremendous achievement of modern technology and the embodiment of daring architectural designs. Located opposite Internet City, it consists of a “trunk” and a “crown” of seventeen palm leaves spreading in both directions. This shape increased the length of the beaches on the archipelago by up to 78 kilometers.

Palm Jumeirah also has a crescent moon, an 11-kilometer-long island acting as a breakwater and protecting the main sandy archipelago from erosion. A 300-meter bridge connects the “trunk” of the Palm Jumeirah with the mainland.

The Palms Islands cost Al Nakheel Properties $7 billion and became the second-largest man-made structure in the history, also visible from space.

This man-made structure claims to be the eighth wonder of the world.  The 17 branches and the crescent of The Palm Jumeirah host over 100 residential villas and a dozen of luxury hotels, including Atlantis, which recently set a new Guinness World Records of 50 waterslides in its Aquanventure – the most in any waterpark globally.

At 12 million sq. ft., Dubai Mall’s total area is equivalent in size to 200 soccer pitches. It has 3.77 million sq. ft. of gross leasable space, over 1,200 retail stores, and more than 200 food and beverage outlets.

The Address Dubai Mall 5-star premium hotel features 244 rooms and 449 serviced residences, as well as 14,000 undercover car park spaces spread across three levels.

The Souk is a distinctive shopping precinct with wide walkways and shops where a unique new exhibit from the Late Jurassic Period, the 155-million-year-old  Diplodocus longus dinosaur skeleton, all of 24.4 meters long and 7.6 meters high, is now on display.

A centerpiece of the mall is the Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo, one of the largest aquariums in the world, boasting the capacity to hold 10 million liters of water, and showcasing one of the most diverse collections of marine animals worldwide.

The Dubai Mall also features an Olympic-size Dubai Ice Rink, a multi-purpose venue that can be transformed into a concert arena or host private functions, with a seating capacity of 350.

Spread over 150,000 sq. ft. are The Dubai Mall Reel Cinemas with 22 screens, and a seating capacity for 2,800 people.

The UAE is reimagining the future of transportation, and the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is closer to launching the world’s first hyperloop in Abu Dhabi and Dubai: Virgin Hyperloop One.

This multi-billion-dollar 100-percent electric project will reduce travel-time for Dubai-Abu Dhabi commuters from 1 hour down to 12 minutes, but the expected completion date has yet to be confirmed.  

Virgin Hyperloop One involves a suspended capsule that consists of multiple passenger/cargo pods in a near-vacuum environment. With an outstanding “airplane” speed of up to 1,123 km/h, the capsule glides through electric propulsion and magnetic levitation, requiring minimal energy. This happens with the help of a proprietary linear electric-motor system, no-contact electromagnetism and ultra-low aerodynamic drag.

With the pods’ noise levels significantly lower than other forms of transportation, noise pollution will be minimal. Fully autonomous, the pods do not require pilots to operate. This eliminates risk factors such as weather hazards and driver-related errors. The tubes, through which the pods will glide, are built with puncture-proof, thick and sturdy steel that can withstand changes in air pressure. Every pod will include emergency exits.

Over 10,000 travelers can be transported both ways every hour and each seat will be equipped with interactive entertainment screens. The proposed Hyperportal locations – stations from which the pods will depart – are near Burj Khalifa in Dubai and Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi.

Businesses in the UAE, especially those focused on high-priority consumer goods such as fresh food and medical supplies that require immediate delivery, will benefit greatly.

September 9, 2022, marked the 13^th anniversary of the opening of the Dubai Metro, the longest driverless urban light railway in the world as certified by Guinness World Records.

Until 2016, the Dubai Metro was the world’s longest driverless metro network with a route length of 75 kilometers as recognized by Guinness World Records in 2012. The system was surpassed by the Vancouver SkyTrain in 2016 for the longest fully automated system in the world but regained the title in 2021 with the opening of Route 2020, which added seven stations to the network. However, its total route length has since been surpassed by the automated lines of the Singapore MRT. Nevertheless, the Red Line, at 52.1 kilometers, remains the world’s longest driverless single metro line.

The Red Line began as a 52-kilometer track, with 10 stations connecting Rashidiya to Jebel Ali, followed by the opening of the 23-kilometer Green Line in 2011 connecting Al Qusais to Dubai Creek.

For its 10th anniversary, the Roads & Transport Authority announced that Dubai Metro had transported 1.5 billion people.

Over 500,000 people take the Dubai Metro every day. Dubai invested over $27.2 billion in roads and transport infrastructure, according to the Roads & Transport Authority, generating economic benefits worth in excess of $18 billion in its first seven years of operation.

This would be the equivalent of a financial return of $31.3 billion by 2020 and $63.7 billion by 2030 on capital and operational costs of $12.3 billion and $14.7 billion respectively.

Following UAE’s 50th anniversary from April 2021 to March 2022, dozens of laws were newly enacted or considerably upgraded and amended in order to make the country a magnet for business and talent.

A new Federal Companies Law was enacted on February 2, 2022, replacing the previous Companies Law of 2015. Foreign investors no longer have a local majority requirement in relation to shares in Emirati corporations.

A new data protection law came into effect very much in line with the European General Data Protection Regulation. Also, key was the replacement last February 2 of the previous UAE Labor Code.  Now, only fixed-term employment contracts are permitted for a maximum period of three years. Existing unlimited contracts will be changed to fixed-term contracts within one year, or by February 1, 2023.

Also, a new UAE Trademark Law came into effect on January 2, 2022, replacing the one enacted in 1992. This law now protects 3D trademarks and holograms as well as sound and olfactory marks. The Trademark law is based on the GCC Unified Trademarks Law and, in the future, it will also be possible to apply for a trademark in several classes at the same time.

Meanwhile, the new Cybercrimes law came into force on January 2, 2022, and is intended to increase protection against online crimes, false advertising on the internet and fake offers, as well as criminalize unlicensed trade in cryptocurrencies, medical products and food supplements.

The UAE has been ranked first globally in three indexes related to the Sustainable Development Goal 4 of Quality Education, which guarantees inclusive and equitable quality education and promotes lifelong learning opportunities for all.

The country clinched the top spot in the Primary Education Enrolment and Literacy Index in the Global Gender Gap Report published by the World Economic Forum, as well as coming in first in terms of the flow of the international student’s index published by IMD.

Education is mandatory in the UAE for all individuals over the age of 6. The law prohibits such children’s parents or guardians from not enrolling them in schools or stopping them from going to school, reducing illiteracy rates to below 1 percent.

The ministry has also dedicated the best supervisory and educational practices as well as curricula that build students’ skills and behavior. This includes gamification, where educational games are incorporated in early childhood curricula to simplify the delivery of information to the child.

The ministry also provides equal education opportunities to students living in difficult physical conditions, and people of determination, equipping schools and accommodating these students to ensure their safety and proper education.

In regards to tertiary learning, of the six UAE universities included in the overall world rankings for 2023, five are on the rise, led by United Arab Emirates University and the University of Sharjah, which have both surged this year into the world top 300 list.

The country’s tertiary education has maintained its international leadership in attracting non-citizen students after establishing a distinguished universal higher education model.

The UAE’s Ministry of Economy has joined the league of governments and private organizations with real estate in the metaverse. The metaverse HQ would be the Ministry of Economy’s third office, offering an immersive experience for governments, global corporations and the public to connect and collaborate.

Dubai-based Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) is the world’s first regulator to enter the metaverse, having opened an HQ in the metaverse in May 2022. Even earlier this year, Sharjah’s Beeah Group also said that its new headquarters will feature a “digital twin” in the metaverse.

According to Economy Minister Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, the virtual government office will sign bilateral agreements with other nations in the metaverse and bolster the UAE’s ability to become a global hub for next-generation technologies.

He said the UAE could build on its position as a gateway for global trade to become a digital export center and a leading metaverse economy.

The UAE aims, with this strategy, to add $4 billion to Dubai’s GDP, support 40,000 virtual jobs by 2030 and attract 1,000 companies specializing in blockchain and metaverse technologies.

The global metaverse market is expected to reach $1.6 trillion by 2030, with total annual growth of 43.3 percent.  The UAE enjoys a competitive advantage to become one of the world’s top 10 metaverse economies, according to the minister.

Meanwhile, Web3 company Delaware incorporated Metaverse Holdings said Dubai would become the world’s first virtual city and a global center for digital innovation. A Beta version of the technology is expected to go live in Q4.

The UAE’s National Digital Government Strategy is drafted on eight dimensions, tailored to fit the UAE’s developmental plan in the post-pandemic era.

These are: Leaving no one behind, Resilient, Fit for the digital age, User-driven, Digital by design, Data-driven, Open by default, and Proactiveness.

The UAE introduced the eDirham in 2001, launched the eGovernment in 2011, and the smart Government in 2013. Today, the digital government is taking part in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

In the field of education, the UAE launched Madrasa (the K-12 eLearning platform), while the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University became the first college offering a Masters’ degree in Artificial Intelligence. The Mohammed Bin Zayed University is the first university for postgraduate studies in AI research worldwide.

In the health sector, the UAE’s Health Ministry launched the E-Health Information System “Wareed,” an integrated electronic system for managing health information in all hospitals and health care centers. The UAE boasts a number of telehealth services.

In business, the UAE launched Basher, a digital one-stop shop helping establish businesses within 15 minutes. The UAE created the first global digital platform that contains information about the country’s industrial sector.

The UAE also launched the Emirates Blockchain Strategy 2021 to transform 50 percent of federal government transactions into the blockchain platform by 2021.

The UAE has achieved a 300 percent increase in e-commerce transactions over 2019.

Dubai has become the world’s first government to turn 100 percent paperless, achieving savings of $350 million and 14-million-man hours.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the Industrial Strategy “Operation 300bn.”

The 10-year comprehensive strategy aims to empower and expand the industrial sector to become the driving force of a sustainable national economy, increasing its contribution to the GDP from the current AED133 billion to AED300 billion by 2031.

The Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology will roll out programs in support of 13,500 industrial SMEs, with the primary focus on future industries that implement advanced technology and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) solutions and applications.

The Ruler of Dubai also launched the Unified Industrial Brand Identity under the slogan “Make it in the Emirates” as part of efforts to build the credentials of UAE products by enhancing their quality and global competitiveness.

“Operation 300bn” will support more than 13,500 SMEs by 2031. Currently, over 33,000 industrial enterprises operate in the UAE, comprising 95 percent of SMEs.

The volume of spending on Research and Development in the industrial sector will increase from AED21 billion, constituting 1.3 percent of the GDP, to AED57 billion in 2031, bringing the contribution to the GDP to 2 percent.

This will significantly accelerate economic diversification already underway in key industrial sectors that include energy, petrochemicals, plastics, metals and manufacturing, as well as food, agriculture, water and health care, as well as in industries of the future such as  space, biotech, medi-tech and other 4IR tech.

“Operation 300bn” also aims to increase the UAE’s global ranking on the Competitive Industrial Performance Index (CIP).

The UAE Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative was the first in the MENA region and aligns with the “Principles of the 50” roadmap for accelerating national economic development.

It also aligns with the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The UAE has invested over $40 billion in the green energy sector to date, including solar and nuclear, which combined will produce 14 GW by 2030, up from 2.4 GW in 2020.

The UAE supports green infrastructure and clean energy projects worldwide, and has invested in renewable energy ventures worth around $16.8 billion in 70 countries. It has also provided more than $400 million in aid and soft loans for clean energy projects.

The UAE’s “Net Zero by 2050” initiative consists of numerous projects including in Abu Dhabi, where the Department of Energy is developing a Hydrogen Policy and Regulatory Framework; and where Emerge, a joint venture between Masdar and French energy company EDF, has won a contract to deploy on-site solar energy systems at SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, a theme park currently under construction.

The UAE is already the world’s third-largest producer of solar power. In Sharjah, a recently inaugurated Waste to Energy plant, the first of its kind in the Middle East, was formed thanks to a joint venture between BEEAH and Masdar. BEEAH Group has already managed to divert 76 percent of Sharjah’s waste away from landfills, the highest rate in the Middle East.

Investopia is one of the most prominent strategic projects announced by the UAE government within the first set of the “Projects of the 50,” which will attract AED550 billion worth of foreign direct investments (FDI) into the UAE by 2030, and AED1 trillion by 2050.

The summit aims to develop innovative partnership models and plans that would provide opportunities for future investment, as well as strengthen partnerships between the public and private sectors.

The March 2022 inaugural summit discussed prospects and trends in global investments until 2025, space investment, food security, health and preventive care technology, as well as current trends reshaping globalization.

The summit also reviewed the metaverse and the opportunities it provides, and analyzed the importance of climate change leadership.

More than 90 speakers and 1,000 decision-makers from around the world attended the summit, where it was revealed that spending on quantum computing would surge to $9.1 billion by 2030 from $260 million in 2020.

During the summit, “The UAE Investment Outlook: 50 Years Ahead” session highlighted the importance of the initiatives and programs of the UAE during the next 50 years. The “Leaders of Investment and Change” session reviewed the importance of the role of women in the future economy.

Investopia has a wide network of local and global partners, including the global cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com, Deloitte Middle East, Accenture Middle East, BlackRock, and several partners from the private sector, along with the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, and the Sharjah Foreign Direct Investment Office (Invest in Sharjah).

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai inaugurated this June the Mohammed bin Rashid Library, located in Al Jaddaf.

Built with an investment of AED1 billion, the library aims to cultivate a culture of reading, while supporting the development of creativity, knowledge and art at both the individual and social level. It will provide a platform for intellectual, literary and imaginative minds across the region and the world.

Across its seven floors, the library includes over 1.1 million printed and digital books in Arabic and foreign languages, over 6 million dissertations, around 73,000 music scores, 75,000 videos, approximately 13,000 articles and more than 5,000 historical print and digital journals within an archive covering 325 years. These are alongside some 35,000 print and digital newspapers from around the world, as well as nearly 500 rare collectibles.

The nine libraries within it are the General Library, the Emirates Library, the Young Adults Library, the Children’s Library, the Special Collection Library, the Maps and Atlases Library, the Media and Arts Library, the Business Library and the Periodical Library.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Library’s facilities use the latest technology and artificial intelligence (AI), including an automated storage and electronic book retrieval system, a book digitization laboratory and smart robots to respond to visitors’ inquiries, in addition to augmented and virtual reality technologies.

While the building looks like an open book, the design is inspired originally by a “rehl” that is used to hold the Holy Quran.

GITEX GLOBAL unifies the world’s most influential ecosystems advancing business, economy, society and culture through the sheer power of innovation.

The world’s largest, most inclusive tech & startup event unveils the transcendent power of 5G and 6G all the way to the vast virtual business ecosystems of the metaverse.

Inspired by the UAE’s mission of building the best coder and developer ecosystem in the world, GITEX’s Global DevSlam is the first-ever event connecting coders to global learning, innovative projects and flourishing career opportunities in the UAE.

GITEX brings a curated Web 3.0 immersive journey, XVERSE, where one can step into a hyper-realistic, multi-dimensional space to explore 25 globally and regionally recognized industry applications and see how businesses will thrive in the vast virtual ecosystem of the metaverse.

The TMRW Foundation partnered with GITEX GLOBAL 2022 to premiere ROOM, its lifelike 3D communication solution, and offered a look into the future of the three-dimensional internet: The Internet of Life.

The technology supports the Dubai Metaverse Strategy by innovating extended reality and supporting sectors such as health care, tourism, education, retail, remote work and legal.

The biggest edition in the event’s history, the 42nd edition of GITEX GLOBAL brought together 5,000 leading technology companies from more than 90 countries across 26 sold-out halls and 2 million sq. ft. of exhibition space at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

GITEX GLOBAL 2022 features some of the world’s most innovative tech giants including Microsoft, IBM, Dell Technologies, Ericsson, Avaya, Honeywell, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, e&, Lenovo, Cisco and Huawei.

In October 2017, the UAE launched the world’s first AI ministry and appointed then-27-year-old Omar bin Sultan Al Olama to head it as Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Teleworking Applications.

By developing the UAE’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy, the first of its kind globally, the government aims to enhance its performance by investing in AI in various economic sectors.

The UAE has been an advanced operator of AI, with plans to be a world leader in the field by 2031. As part of its efforts toward that goal it launched an initiative to train 100 government officials in AI technology, in addition to introducing AI into schools and training teachers on the new curriculum.

Meanwhile, the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) was officially licensed in 2020 as a graduate research university dedicated to advancing AI, educating and developing top talent to foster an innovation ecosystem, and act as a strategic think tank for the public and private sectors.

The university attracts world-class thinkers and doers in computer vision, machine learning, natural language processing, and beyond. It is ranked 24^th globally for AI, ML and NLP, attracting 257 students from more than 40 countries of whom 31 percent are women, and boasting 97 researchers and post doctorates with 456 publications published in journals and conferences.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise recently announced it is building a new supercomputer for MBZUAI to accelerate AI-driven scientific discovery and advance the UAE’s goal to be a global AI leader and increase predictability in research analyses in fields including energy, transportation and the environment.

Oxford Economics is predicting UAE GDP growth of 6.8 percent for 2022, a significant increase in the recorded actual growth of 3.8 percent in 2021, and by far beating growth figures of major global economies that are on the brink of a recession.

The latest government economic indicators show the UAE’s GDP expanding by an annual 8.4 percent in Q1 2022, with non-oil sectors expanding by 8.8 percent from a year earlier. The UAE economy has rebounded strongly on the back of tourism, a buoyant property sector and higher oil prices.

The S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index for the UAE climbed to 56.7 in August from 55.4 in July, the quickest rise in non-oil business activity since June 2019.

The UAE’s foreign trade for H1 this year exceeded $272 billion, compared with $228 billion for the same period before the pandemic.

The tourism sector’s revenue exceeded $5.2 billion during H1 and total hotel guests in the same period reached 12 million, growing by 42 percent, compared with the same period before the pandemic.

Abu Dhabi property transactions exceeded $6.1 billion in H1 2022.

In Dubai, average residential property prices increased by 10 percent in H1, a CBRE report found.

The UAE’s crude oil output has increased 13 percent in the first eight months of this year, relative to full year 2021 production.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed the UAE’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at “AA” with a Stable Outlook.

Abu Dhabi achieved the highest vaccination rate in the world at nearly 100 percent, according to the Department of Health-Abu Dhabi (DoH). It successfully managed to navigate and combat the pandemic without going into full lockdown. The UAE was one of the first countries in the world to launch a COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

Abu Dhabi was also recognized as the world’s top pandemic-resilient city globally by Deep Knowledge Analytics (DKA).

The report was based on six parameters aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19 and demonstrate resilience and readiness for similar future public health developments. These parameters are government efficiency, economic resilience, health care management, quarantine measures, vaccination strategy and cultural compliance.

Analysis showed that the UAE’s crisis management included efficient and able governance, integrated utilization of public-private partnerships and a global workforce of excellence

Abu Dhabi performed 500,000 tests per day and established 27 drive-through testing and vaccination centers, while increasing health care capacity by 200 percent pertaining to the number of patient beds at hospitals as well as increasing the number of intensive care beds by 300 percent.

Starting November 7, the UAE lifted all remaining COVID-19 restrictions.  The country’s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) said that the remaining restrictions pertaining to masks and the Al Hosn app would be lifted.

The UAE has also aided other countries in dealing with the pandemic. It provided medical aid, ventilators, testing kits, personal protective equipment and supplies to 135 countries worldwide to support global efforts to combat COVID-19.

The UAE ranks eighth on an index of the world’s top 10 countries geared toward electric mobility, consultancy firm Arthur D Little reported.

The UAE electric vehicle market is projected to grow at an annual rate of 30 percent between 2022 and 2028, according to the global electric mobility readiness index 2022.

Passenger vehicles constitute about 95 percent of the EV market in the UAE due to an increase in rental car services.

The report evaluated market readiness in five major categories that drive EV adoption — macroeconomic factors, competitive landscape, customer readiness, public charging infrastructure, as well as total cost of ownership and regulation.

As part of its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050, the UAE, driven by Vision 2021, has converted at least 20 percent of government agency vehicles to EVs and is aiming for 42,000 on the streets by 2030.

The country boasts nearly 325 charging stations. The Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi is planning to construct a 25,000 m2 facility for the manufacturing, R&D and vehicle testing of EVs.

A recent study shows that about 30 percent of UAE residents are seriously considering buying an EV as it can prove more cost-effective than gasoline-powered vehicles in the long run.

Some 5,000 electric cars were registered in Dubai at the end of January 2022, statistics showed.

Dubai Industrial City witnessed the launch of the first electric car “Al Damani” manufactured by the Emirati company “M Glory.” The EV, which has a range of 405 kilometers on a single charge, is priced at $34,710.

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) provides a wide choice of financial instruments for investors, including equities, bonds and sukuk.

The DFM became the first Shariah-compliant exchange globally. It offers innovative digital solutions including the iVESTOR Card for cash dividend distribution, the eFSAH system, the eServices platform and mobile apps.

DFM helped upgrade the UAE to “Emerging Market” status by international rating agencies such as MSCI and S&P Dow Jones. Operational consolidation with Nasdaq Dubai offered investors a greater choice of asset classes via a single Investor Number (NIN).

DFM’s consolidated financial results for H1 2022 posted a 63 percent increase in net profit to AED 63.4 million compared to AED 38.8 million during H1 2021.

During H1, DFM welcomed the listing of DEWA, the largest initial public offering in the history of the UAE financial markets.

The company’s total consolidated revenue reached AED163.8 million in H1 2022 compared to AED136.6 million year-on-year.

Total trading value increased by 75 percent during H1 to AED49.4 billion from AED28.2 billion YoY.

The DFM maintained its attractiveness to international investors, who accounted for 47 percent of its trading value during H1 with net purchases of AED2.6 billion.

Institutional investors accounted for 53.6 percent of the trading value. DFM has attracted 70,432 new investors during H1, up 38 times YoY.

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) increased 1,945 points or 22.91 percent since the beginning of 2022. The ADX derivatives market celebrated one year of success with AED1 billion in trades. One year after ADX launched single stock futures, the ADX derivatives market has become the region’s most liquid derivatives market in the Arab region, while being the youngest. ADX is the second-largest market in the Arab region.

Dubai International Airport (DXB) retained its title as the world’s busiest international airport with 29.1 million passengers in 2021. Passenger numbers through DXB more than doubled in H1 2022 to 27.9 million. Passenger traffic for H1 2021 was 10.6 million.

The world’s busiest international airport also raised its full-year 2022 forecast to 62.4 million passengers from a previous estimate of 58.3 million.

During H1, 96 percent of DXB’s passengers queued for less than 5 minutes at departure passport control, while the average queue time at security checks for departures was less than 3 minutes for 97 percent of total passengers, thanks to smart gates.

India remained DXB’s top destination country by passenger numbers with traffic for the H1 reaching 4 million passengers.

Saudi Arabia was second on the list with 2 million passengers, followed closely by the U.K. with 1.9 million.

The top city for travelers from DXB was London with 1.3 million passengers.

DXB’s first co-working space, called “Their Patio,” opened recently in Terminal 3, at the arrivals section.

Abu Dhabi Airports is gearing up to launch advanced biometric technology to offer a seamless experience throughout the travel journey for a “tailored travel.”

Meanwhile, Emirates airline received five global and regional awards from prestigious travel and aviation ceremonies Ultras 2002 and Apex 2023.

The airline won the titles of “Best Airline in the World” and “Best Airline in the Middle East,” at the Ultras 2022 awards.

Emirates airline’s current fleet comprises 262 aircraft, with the airline serving 152 destinations.  Etihad Airways, operates a fleet of 125 aircraft serving over 120 destinations and ranked 12th in the best 20 airlines in the world.

Dubai has world-class sports, hospitality and tourism infrastructures with an unrivalled ability to successfully organize mega sports events.

Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council (DSC), said the UAE has always been keen to cooperate and collaborate with the world, and is proud to offer its infrastructure for Asia Cup fixtures, one of cricket’s biggest contests.

During the six months of the Expo 2020, Dubai hosted over 30 international sports events, including the men’s and women’s Rugby World Cup qualifiers; cricket’s Twenty20 World Cup; and the golf European Tour’s “Race to Dubai” finale, the DP World Tour Championship.

The UAE is known for equestrian sports that include endurance, show jumping, eventing, dressage and racing. Both Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and his son Sheikh Hamdan are exceptionally gifted endurance riders and have won several international endurance rides.

Camel racing today is an organized sport involving valuable prizes and cash awards worth millions of dirhams.

The modern era brought several sports to the UAE such as football, golf, polo, tennis, rugby, sailing, yacht and motor racing.

Popular recreational and adventure activities include sky diving, golfing, desert safari, dune buggy riding, cycling, land sailing, quad biking, dune bashing, sandboarding, canoeing, kayaking, surfing, wakeboarding, jet skiing, snorkeling, scuba diving, fishing, ice-skating and snow skiing.

The UAE regularly hosts championships that involve renowned international players, big rewards and huge public following, including the Arabian Gulf League, the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, the Dubai Desert Classic, the Dubai Tennis Championships, the Rugby Sevens and the Dubai World Cup.

The Dubai real estate sector has seen significant recovery from the effects of COVID-19. The largest single sales transaction in Dubai’s history took place when an AED280 million palm villa was sold earlier this year.

Dubai’s luxury home market is supported by rising demand and interest from the international elite.  2021 saw increased activity in the luxury housing sector as it recorded a 40-percent surge in prices compared to the preceding year.

A 10 to 15 percent jump in annual price gains is expected in prime areas as the emirate recorded a 30 percent jump in transactions of luxury homes in January 2022 with 4,083 deals. A substantial price increase of 35.1 percent per square foot was recorded in the luxury property market, such as The Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah Bay, District 1 and Dubai Hills.

Maintaining its reputation for selling ultra-exclusive and luxury villas, The Palm Jumeirah sold the most expensive villa worth $23.68 million during Q1 2022.

Q3 2022 became the best performing quarter in the history of the Dubai real estate market, with over 25,500 transactions rising by 14 percent QoQ and 60 percent compared to Q3 2021.  ​

This year, transactions valued above AED100 million increased by almost 49 percent vs. the record in 2014 and surged by 56 percent for properties worth more than AED20 million compared to the previous best performance in 2015.

According to the Knight Frank’s Prime International Residential Index 100, Dubai ranked first in terms of prime price performance across 100 cities and second-home markets worldwide in 2021. In fact, the cost of luxury homes here grew by 44 percent, fueled by economic support measures, various visa initiatives and the prime infrastructure of the city.

The UAE is among the world’s leading countries on several digital life indices, the, the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) said in a recent report titled “Digital Lifestyle in the UAE.”

The telecom authority said the UAE ranked first globally in the use of social media, second globally and first in the Arab region in the use of the internet, and ninth globally and first in the Arab region in e-commerce.

The UAE is first globally in terms of mobile internet speed, which stands at 134.48 megabytes per second (Mbps), while the global average is 30 Mbps.

It ranks 13^th globally in home internet speed, which stands at 124.7 Mbps compared to the global average of 63.46 Mbps.

It is second globally in terms of internet usage at a rate of 99 percent compared to the global average of 62.5 percent. The number of internet users in the UAE is close to 10 million. The country was also ranked 11th globally in terms of time spent using the internet.

It is first globally in terms of average time spent on social media per capita at 106 percent, compared to the global average of 58.4 percent.

The UAE is among the top 10 countries in e-gaming at 90 percent. The country was ranked among the top 10 in people in possession of cryptocurrencies at 11.4 percent.

It is ninth globally in e-commerce, with the average annual per capita share of digital spending in the country being some $3,775, compared to the global average of $1,766.

The UAE is among the top 20 countries in terms of digital content, with 68.1 percent of the population buying miscellaneous digital content on the internet.

Boasting ultra-modern transport infrastructure and a strategic geographical location, Dubai has earned a reputation for being one of the world’s leading trade and logistics hubs.

According to Mordor Intelligence, it is forecast to be worth over $31 billion by 2026, up from $19.65 billion in 2020, representing a compound annual growth rate of 8.41 percent.

From the world’s largest man-made port to one of the world’s busiest international airports, Dubai has attracted global logistics giants and supply chain specialists.

Dubai’s World Logistics Passport, an initiative offering a range of financial incentives to use the Emirates’ logistics services in return for enhanced custom clearances, cost and time savings, increases the ease of moving goods between Latin America, Africa and Asia.

This Dubai-led freight loyalty program has attracted the involvement of more than 20 of the world’s fastest-growing economies, including Brazil, India and Mexico.

DP World is the premier maritime gateway and hub to a region of more than 3 billion people, boasting a global logistics network of ports and economic parks, including Emirates Group’s worldwide Dnata and SkyCargo network.

Dubai has also implemented the Dubai Logistics Corridor (DLC), which is a single customs bonded zone covering an area of 200 square kms that links Dubai Logistics City and Jebel Ali Free Zone.

The logistics industry makes up over 14 percent of Dubai’s GDP. China is Dubai’s largest trading partner, contributing $29 billion to the economy in 2019, followed closely by India.

The UAE’s total exports to China recorded $9 billion by Dec 2021, while importing $51.8 billion from China the same year.

The UAE’s clean energy capacity is primed to reach 14 gigawatts by 2030 as a result of new initiatives and projects, according to the country’s Minister of Climate Change and Environment Mariam AlMheiri.

She said the UAE was “home to the three largest-in-capacity, lowest-in-cost solar parks in the world” and is the “first country to have a carbon capture utilization and storage facility, having a capacity of 800,000 tons per year and is being expanded to 5 million tons.”

The UAE is investing $163.5 billion in clean and renewable energy projects over the next three decades toward its goal of net zero emissions by 2050. It is building the world’s largest solar plant in the Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi with a capacity of 2 gigawatts, in addition to the Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park in Dubai with a 5-gigawatt capacity.

Looking to assist globally, the U.S. and the UAE have recently reached an agreement to spend $100 billion on clean energy projects with a goal of adding 100 gigawatts worldwide by 2035.

The UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure and its Indonesian counterpart signed a Declaration of Intent to develop electricity systems, power stations, clean and renewable energy sectors and carbon capture and storage, among others.

The UAE also launched the 5,600 megawatts Barakah nuclear energy plant, which when fully operational will supply up to 25 percent of the country’s electricity needs and reduce up to 21 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

The UAE also has an ambitious hydrogen strategy and aims to capture about 25 percent of the global hydrogen market.

Keen on promoting cheerfulness, the UAE appointed a minister of state for happiness and launched the National Program for Happiness and Wellbeing which will include Emiratis as well as expatriate residents and visitors.

The plan will also include initiatives for publishing scientific and cultural content, in addition to books on happiness.

On March 20, 2016, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum approved the National Program for Happiness and several initiatives that aim to create a happy and productive work environment at federal government offices.

Some of these include appointing CEOs for happiness and wellbeing at all government bodies, establishing councils for happiness and wellbeing at federal entities, and allocating time for happiness-related activities.

The document seeks to transform customer service centers into customer happiness centers, and will include annual indices, surveys and reports to measure happiness in all community segments.

Happiness in Abu Dhabi has increased on the wellbeing index by 7.8 percent, for a final score of 7.727 points out of 10.

The life satisfaction index has increased by 6.6 percent while the work-life balance index has increased by nearly 16 percent. Metrics including overall residence gratification and housing income satisfaction both increased as well.

The results come as Abu Dhabi, and the UAE, have transitioned to a new working week and weekend for 2022, the year the country became the 24th happiest globally.

At the annual Customer Happiness Summit & Awards (CHSA), 2022, Nakheel Community Management and Banke were awarded the year’s Happiest Residential Community and CH Broker respectively. Burjeel Hospitals won the year’s CH Medical Facility. Dubai-based super app Careem bagged three related awards.

The UAE’s continued efforts to improve gender diversity in the boardroom have led to more women holding board positions in 2021 (8.9 percent), up from 3.5 percent in 2020, according to research undertaken by Aurora50, and Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government.

The report revealed that 77 of the 868 board seats from the 115 listed companies on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Dubai Financial Market are now held by women.

The Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) has set a quota mandating all listed companies in the UAE to appoint at least one woman to their boards.

Fatema Al Nuaimi, CEO for ADNOC LNG is one of ADNOC Group’s three female chief executives. The company has committed to ensuring at least one woman sits on the board of every ADNOC Group company by end 2022.

The UAE Labor Law guarantees women earn the same wage as men for performing the same work, while the Law on Equal Wages and Salaries for Men and Women ensures that women’s rights are protected and they have equal job opportunities.

The UAE Gender Balance Council is a federal entity whose objectives are to reduce the gender gap across all government sectors, and enhance the UAE’s ranking in global competitiveness reports on gender equality.

In the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2022, the UAE ranked first across Arab countries and first globally in five of the report’s sub-indicators: Enrolment in primary education, Enrolment in secondary education, Enrolment in tertiary education, Sex ratio at birth, and Women in Parliament.

In April 2018, the UAE launched the Emirates Blockchain Strategy 2021 aimed at transforming 50 percent of government transactions into the blockchain platform by that date.

It expects to save AED11 billion in transactions and documents processed routinely, 398 million printed documents and 77 million work hours annually, unlocking AED5.5 billion in savings annually.

The UAE legalized ownership of crypto and digital assets under a still-expanding regulatory framework.

MEAACBA is a non-profit organization backed by Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) that counts major cryptocurrency platforms such as Mubadala-backed MidChais, Dubai-based BitOasis, Bahrain’s Rain Financial, Crypto.com and Binance. Global cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance, Kraken and eToro have flocked to ADGM to secure operating licenses.

The UAE is now among the top five nations in terms of crypto adoption, with annual transactions worth $25 billion, according to consultancy PwC.

In terms of central bank-issued digital currency (CBDC), the UAE Central Bank announced the development of its own national digital currency and published a development strategy for 2023-26 that aims to make the bank one of the top 10 central banks in the world.

The UAE’s central bank has already collaborated with Saudi Arabia to develop a prototype national digital currency using blockchain technology. The two-country project was called Aber. Previously, the state-owned bank also joined the Central Bank Digital Currency Bridge project, which involves central banks in Hong Kong, Thailand and China.

Roughly 100 countries, representing 95 percent of the world’s GDP, are using or looking into CBDCs.

The UAE’s 10-year golden visa is granted to investors, entrepreneurs, skilled professionals who earn a monthly salary of more than AED30,000 ($8,167), exceptional talents, scientists and professionals, outstanding students and graduates, property investors, humanitarian pioneers and front-line heroes.

Real estate investors can obtain a golden residency visa upon purchase of a built or off-plan property valued at AED2 million ($544,500) or more, including purchases made with loans from specific local banks.

A Green Visa provides a five-year residency for skilled employees, without a sponsor or employer, earning a salary no less than AED15,000.

Meanwhile, the UAE introduced a one-year digital nomad visa allowing people to live in the Emirates while continuing to work for employers in their home countries

Dubai also offers a five-year retirement visa for expatriates older than 55.

The Property Visa provides a three-year visa that can be obtained by those purchasing a property valued at a minimum of AED750,000, where no more than 50 percent of the value is subject to a mortgage, or at least AED750,000 needs to be paid to a bank.

An Investor / Partner Visa is only issued to a UAE company shareholder for a period of three years allowing visa holders to also “sponsor” their dependents.

The Business Exploration Entry Visa allows straightforward entry for people to explore investment and business opportunities in the UAE. Job exploration visas allows job explorers to come to the UAE legally for 60 days and safely look for work.

The UAE won membership on the U.N. Human Rights Council for the 2022-24 term, a culmination of the UAE’s never-ending efforts to strengthen human rights and freedoms.

The UAE has an envious record of cooperation with various U.N. bodies and believes in the pivotal role played by the Council in the promotion and protection of human rights.

The UAE has served two consecutive terms in the Council fulfilling most of its earlier voluntary pledges and commitments. It is currently implementing its voluntary pledges announced at the 23rd Session of the Universal Periodic Review, particularly the following:

The UAE has a progressive vision built on the values of inclusion, tolerance and acceptance, where more than 200 nationalities live in peace and harmony. It established over 83 places of worship for many non-Muslim groups. The UAE finalized a draft law to establish the independent National Human Rights Institution (NHRI), having since 2019 established the National Human Rights Committee currently overseeing the preparation of a National Human Rights Action Plan.

The UAE’s Federal Law No. (10) of 2017 protects the rights of domestic workers by ensuring them decent working and living conditions. The UAE, in partnership with U.N. Women, launched the U.N. Women’s GCC Liaison Office in Abu Dhabi in 2016, aimed at women’s empowerment.

The UAE’s judiciary is entirely independent. Residents’ rights include no arrest without a warrant and the accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Anyone accused of a serious crime may have a lawyer to defend them or shall have one appointed by the court free of charge.

The UAE placed ninth globally in 432 global indicators. According to the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2021, it globally placed third in government efficiency, eighth in business efficiency, ninth in economic performance and 28th in infrastructure.

The UAE ranks within the top five countries in 65 indicators and ranks first globally in 19 indicators. It ranked 33rd on the Global innovation index and 25th in the World Happiness report.

These indicators see the UAE excelling in several essential areas, including education, environment, climate change, security and safety, cybersecurity, infrastructure, flexibility of regulations, prosperity, governance and more.

A recent Insead survey ranks the UAE 25th out of 133 countries and second-best in the Middle East in an annual benchmarking report measuring how countries and cities attract, grow and retain talent. It covers 133 countries and 175 cities across all income groups and levels of development.

The UAE has ranked 31st globally on the Global Innovation Index (GII) in 2022, which is published by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), climbing two spots from 2021, while remaining top among Arab nations for the seventh consecutive year.

Meanwhile, the UAE ranked 18th globally on the GII’s Innovation Input Sub-Index, five ranks higher than 2021.

Within these, the UAE came in sixth globally in the Institutions indicator, as compared to 24th last year; seventh in the infrastructure indicator, as compared to 14th in 2021; and 17th in the Human Capital and Research indicator.

The UAE has selected 56 coding ambassadors to help champion the country’s digital drive, 23 of which are Emiratis, drawn from all seven emirates.

Operating under the supervision of the UAE Artificial Intelligence Office, the national program for coders was launched in June 2021 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.

The UAE signed a deal with a host of technology giants as part of the initiative, including Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Cisco, IBM, HPE, LinkedIn, Nvidia and Facebook, to train 100,000 young people in computer programming within five years.

Sheikh Mohammed wants this tech-savvy workforce to create 1,000 digital companies to boost the UAE economy and increase government support for start-ups from AED1.5 billion ($0.41 billion) to AED4 billion.

The program will also grant golden visas to 100,000 of the world’s best coders.

These ambassadors will help promote the importance of digital knowledge to government and private sector leaders, employees, and university and school students.

A coding school free of teachers or classrooms started last October, with 225 pupils split 60 percent males and 40 percent females.

Dubai Knowledge Park is well-positioned to play a key role in achieving the aims of the program, having over 15 learning centers that teach coding skills to a range of age groups for a period of three months to two years.

At Premier Genie at DKP, children as young as grade-one level can begin learning the fundamentals of block-based programming tools, while grades 10-12 focus on advanced programming languages.

Tourists visit the city of Pisa in Italy to see its world-famous tower, an iconic leaning building in the world. However, it’s not the most extreme. This title belongs to Abu Dhabi’s Capital Gate, a 160m-tall leaning tower in Abu Dhabi that leans 18 degrees westward, about five times the angle of Italy’s Leaning Tower of Pisa.

The $231 million project was developed by Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) and designed by Robert Matthew, Johnson-Marshall & Partners (RMJM). Construction work on the tower started in September 2007 and was completed in 2011. Commercial leasing of the tower began in April 2011.

Capital Gate is home to 15 floors of offices, restaurants and bars, as well as a hotel, the Andaz Capital Gate.

In September 2011, the project won the Best Commercial / Mixed-Use Project and the Best Overall Project of the Year at the 2011 Cityscape Global Awards for Architecture in Emerging Markets.

Being situated at the confluence of sea and desert, the building’s form symbolizes a swirling spiral of sand while the curved canopy represents a splash.

The building’s core was built in the opposite direction of its incline to maintain its balance. The building has a diagrid specially designed to absorb and channel the forces created by wind, or seimic loading, as well as the gradient of Capital Gate. Capital Gate is one of only a handful of diagrid buildings in the world. Others include London’s 30 St Mary Axe (Gherkin), New York’s Hearst Tower, and Beijing’s National Stadium.

Dubai creative Clusters Authority (DCCA) is responsible for licensing, visa and zoning regulations for the diverse free zone encompassing Dubai Internet City, Dubai Outsource Zone, Dubai Media City, Dubai Studio City, International Media Production Zone, Dubai Knowledge Village, Dubai International Academic City, Dubai Biotechnology and Research Park (DuBiotech), Energy and Environment Park (EnPark) and Dubai Design District (D3). These clusters are owned and operated by TECOM Investments, Dubai’s master developer of industry-focused clusters.

These clusters host more than 4,200 businesses across the media, ICT, education, sciences and design industries, housing a workforce of over 64,000. They successfully attracted many industry leaders including Microsoft, Google, IBM, Dell, HP, LinkedIn, SAP, GE, Pfizer, Exxon Mobil, CNN, MBC, OSN, Pfizer, and others.

The authority has invested AED40 million annually toward the Dubai International Film Festival, the Dubai Film and TV Commission, and the Dubai Design and Fashion Council.

TECOM successfully proceeded with an initial public offering (IPO) on the DFM, beginning its first day of trading on July 5, and raising approximately AED1.7 billion.

TECOM Group announced its financial results for Q3 and first nine months ending September 30, 2022.

Q3 revenues came in at AED490 million, increasing 12.48 percent year on year (YoY) while nine-month revenues for 2022 increased 15 percent YoY to AED1.48 billion, driven by strong growth across all business segments

As of September 30, 2022, occupancy levels for commercial and industrial assets was 83.5 percent, a significant increase from year end 2021 when occupancy levels stood at 78.3 percent.

In October 2014, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the UAE National Innovation Strategy to make the UAE one of the most innovative nations globally within seven years.

The strategy establishes a stimulating environment for innovation in the form of supportive institutions and laws, requiring all government entities to reduce spending by 1 percent toward savings geared at research and innovation projects.

It encourages private sector companies to establish innovation and scientific research centers, adopt new technologies, and develop innovative products and services.

The strategy prepares individuals by concentrating on science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The strategy targets stimulating innovation in seven sectors.

Renewable energy: The strategy will establish a new organization to facilitate decentralized power generation projects such as small-scale solar installations.

Transportation: The strategy will stimulate innovation in air and sea travel as well as logistics with a focus on innovation in the field of unmanned drones.

Education: The strategy will establish innovation labs in schools and universities to equip students with skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, perseverance and adaptability.

Health: The strategy will promote advanced technologies such as biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries while also working with strategic partners to support medical research.

Water: The strategy will seek innovative solutions to the challenge of water scarcity.

Technology: Innovation in research and technology.

Space: The strategy will support space technology for the purpose of exploration as well as satellite communications.

The UAE is a competitive market for the ICT industry and 5G tech in a bid to drive a knowledge-based economy.

Several free-trade zones such as Dubai Internet City and Dubai Silicon Oasis specialize in the ICT industry, high tech and innovation.

The UAE’s ICT spending will reach $23 billion by 2024.

Demand for ICT products and services exist in sectors such as health care, space, aviation, aerospace, defense, transportation, retail, financial services, hospitality and others.

The UAE’s SmartPass system created a digital framework for the operations of all government services and ministries.

The UAE is one of the largest data center hubs in the Middle East where up to $1 billion in additional investments are projected by 2026. Microsoft Azure launched two cloud regions in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and Amazon Web Services announced a new data center region in the UAE. Between 2017 and 2022, the UAE cloud computing industry created over 32,000 jobs.

The UAE has emerged as a leading global location for the deployment of IoT solutions to enhance public infrastructure.

The UAE was the first country in the Arab region and fourth globally to launch its 5G network with Du and Etisalat. In June 2021, Etisalat revealed a 6G project that is estimated to be around 100 times faster than 5G.

The UAE has ranked first in terms of mobile speed at 193.51 Mbps, and among the top 20 countries globally in the fixed broadband index.

Expo 2020 Dubai was hailed as the world’s fastest event, recording an impressive median download speed of 983.19 Mbps across its six-month duration.

Pearls have been traded in Dubai since the seventh century when the industry was once the cornerstone of the UAE economy.

The industry was overtaken by the oil boom and pearl diving almost disappeared altogether, until an 8,000-year-old pearl was identified as the oldest ever found in 2019 in Abu Dhabi.

The UAE’s Environment Agency in Abu Dhabi is now partnering with FAO to revive the Emirate’s pearl industry, conducting a detailed analysis of the UAE coastline, identifying and mapping areas where aquaculture, including oyster and pearl cultivation, could be sustainably practiced.

The UAE’s strategy is designed to protect the natural oyster beds ecosystem so it can recover and become a destination for eco-tourism that highlights the traditions and heritage associated with pearl diving and the modern technologies being used to promote sustainable pearl farming.

Around 20,000 cultured pearls are produced annually at Al-Dhafra, the site of Abu Dhabi Pearls Project, but there are plans to increase this number to around  25,000 pearls a year.

Today, the DMCC Pearl Exchange has become firmly established as an authoritative international body for promoting trade in a wide variety of natural and cultured pearls from around the world.

The UAE is also the largest and fastest growing diamond hub, having increased its H1 2022 gross diamond trade (rough and polished) to $19.8 billion, marking a year-on-year increase of 24.7 percent, according to DMCC.

From January to June 2022, UAE’s polished diamond trade jumped 52.5 percent to $6.73 billion, and its rough diamond trade increased 14 percent to $13.05 billion.

The UAE’s pioneering environmental efforts reflect the country’s national and ethical commitment as outlined in its vision on sustainable development and climate change confrontation. This comes in line with the UAE’s “Principles of the 50,” and the country’s development strategy and the vision of the Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who said, “We take from our environment as much as we need and leave the rest to ensure the rights of future generations.”

It is important to note that the UAE will be hosting the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in 2023.

The UAE is working on building a better future for its citizens and residents, as it provides an example to other countries on how to adopt a clean and renewable energy strategy. In recent years, environmental education has become one of the main elements in curriculum development in the United Arab Emirates. Accordingly, efforts have been directed to include environmental content in school curricula.

On-the-ground examples include Masdar City, one of the most prominent sustainable urban developments in the Middle East, which uses technology and solar power to help reduce energy and water consumption.

Established in 2015 and spanning over 5 million sq. ft., Sustainable City Dubai is the eco-friendly project that focuses on social, economic and environmental sustainability, covering all aspects to conserve energy.

Finally, the Expo 2020 site is a sustainable, human-centric smart city that will reuse at least 80 percent of the Expo-built infrastructure.

The UAE is set to join the world’s top 10 leading markets for global box office revenues by 2030. But one could go to the movies anywhere.

Dubai is an entertainment mecca with a tourism strategy to attract 25 million visitors a year by 2025, if not sooner.

Exclusive experiences include swimming with sharks at Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo while safely inside a dive cage.

There, the iconic Burj Khalifa alone is a sight to see. It’s the world’s tallest building at 830 meters, an architectural marvel.

Desert “duning” in a 4×4 or sandboarding are great for thrills and spills.

One of the largest indoor theme parks in the world, IMG Worlds of Adventures, is also for thrill-ride seekers, and is visited by over 20,000 people daily with rides centered around popular Cartoon Network characters, Marvel superheroes and dinosaur adventures.

Hot-air ballooning at sunrise allows a relaxing time watching camels and gazelles traveling or running the sands.

More down to earth, Aventura Parks is the city’s largest zipline park covering 35,000 square meters of swinging space amid lush Ghaf tree forests.

The La Perle by Dragone is a 90-minute show filled with acrobatics and aquatic stunts in an onstage pool with a cast of 65 Broadway-seasoned performers.

Deep Dive Dubai offers an extraordinary diving experience in a wonderful underwater world that resembles a sunken city.

You can go sky high with Dinner in the Sky, suspended 50 meters in the air, or ski all year long at Ski Dubai set across 22,500 m2 of manmade powder.

There is much more but we can’t cover it all.

The Ease of Doing Business index ranks countries against each other based on how the regulatory environment is conducive to business operations and protections of property rights.

The Ease of Doing Business in the UAE is expected to reach 17 by end 2022, according to Trading Economics. The UAE created a modern investment environment and set policies that facilitate and speed up the establishment of companies through electronic platforms, and promoted its attractiveness by issuing amendments to the Companies Law.

The UAE has ranked in the top five economies out of 63 countries ranked by the IMD World Competitiveness rankings.

For the sixth year in a row, the UAE also topped MENA countries in the annual Global Competitiveness Report 2022, issued by the Global Competitiveness Center of the International Institute for Management Development.

The UAE maintained its leadership in first place regionally in the general ranking and 12th globally. According to the report’s results, the UAE ranked first globally in 19 indicators, while it ranked among the top five globally in 62 indicators, and among the top 10 globally in 100 indicators, out of a total of 334 indicators.

According to the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (FCSC), the UAE topped 156 world competitiveness indicators such as education, environment, climate change, security and safety, cybersecurity and infrastructure.

The UAE provides strengthened access to credit and ensures that registering property becomes easier while focusing on improving the legislation, procedures, as well as the cost and time of pursuing different businesses.

The UAE has a wide range of business segments and customer preferences that influence the economy and employment market.

The employment market in the UAE is expected to continue improving with salary increases between 3 percent and 5 percent anticipated at the start of next year.

According to the Hays 2022 Salary Guide, approximately 73 percent of UAE employers anticipated salary increases of up to 5 percent compared to 37 percent of those surveyed in 2021.

Employers in the UAE frequently provide family permits, flexibility and remote working arrangements, plane tickets and some offer educational allowances to job candidates.

Technology, human resources, and medical services are the most stable industries while there is a need for talented individuals in project management, data, technology and artificial intelligence.

Hiring activity in the UAE jumped 3 percent in Q3 2022 according to Cooper Fitch.

Seven out of 10 UAE companies plan to hire new employees next year, Bayt.com and market research company YouGov reported.

Sixty-three percent of large local companies and multinational corporations in the MENA region are among those that have the highest intention of hiring in the next three months, the research found.

Some 86 percent of working professionals in the UAE have a positive career outlook for 2023, Bayt.com and YouGov found.

Cooper Fitch said a 5-percent increase in new jobs in the investment market was fueled by increasing activity in IPOs and M&As, very much prevalent in the UAE. The UAE witnessed the region’s largest IPO activity in Q3 2022, with total gross demand reaching $50.2 billion.

UAE commercial gyms are becoming more diversified, with boutique studios and growth of ladies-only fitness centers contributing to its rapid growth.

The market is expected to register a five-year annual growth of 11 percent in terms of revenue during 2020-25.

Focus toward offering group-class exercises which includes Pilates, Cross fits, Zumba, Aerobics, Martial Arts and many others will prove key to success for independent gyms.

Digital Fitness and at-home virtual workout classes are gaining traction post pandemic.

This shift in consumer preferences is expected to contribute to the growth of fitness equipment in coming years. Busy working professionals prefer to undertake online fitness sessions to enjoy exercising in the comfort of their homes and at their convenience. In response to the growing home fitness equipment industry, market players are launching digitally connected solutions for consumers.

There is also increased memberships in UAE fitness centers partly due to the prevalence of adult obesity in the UAE standing at 27.8 percent in 2019. The opening up of ladies dedicated gyms, such as Fitness Terminal with female professional trainers, has increased female memberships in the country.

UAE Hotels are collaborating with fitness centers to provide special trainings thereby increasing member penetration and employment.

Meanwhile, government initiatives such as Dubai Fitness Challenge are also encouraging youth to take part in activities and events.

The fitness market is further expected to grow due to an increasingly health-conscious population, higher disposable income, rising awareness regarding obesity, as well as to overcome health issues such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) announced a $127 billion capital spending plan for 2022-26, after reporting an increase in the UAE’s oil and natural gas reserves.

It said national reserves had risen by 4 billion stock tank barrels (stb) of oil and 16 trillion standard cubic feet (scf) of natural gas, taking the totals to 111 billion stb and 289 trillion scf respectively.

ADNOC said this reinforced the UAE’s position as sixth in the world in terms of oil reserves and seventh for gas reserves.

ADNOC approved in December 2021 capital spending of $127 billion for 2022-26.

The investment will expand upstream production capacity, the company’s downstream portfolio, plus low carbon and clean energy businesses.

A discovery in the Offshore Block 2 Exploration Concession off the cost of Abu Dhabi amounted to 1-1.5 trillion scf of gas to add to an earlier discovery of 1.5-2 scf in the field.

ADNOC, which pumps almost all of the UAE’s oil, wants to be able to produce 5 million barrels a day by 2025, sooner than a previously disclosed aim of 2030.

The UAE oil and gas market is expected to register an annual growth rate of more than 3.6 percent between 2022 and 2027. The country now has a total of 105 billion barrels of oil and 7.73 trillion cubic meters of conventional gas that are recoverable.

The UAE produces an average of 3.2 million barrels of petroleum and liquids per day. Crude oil production was reported at 3,193.000 Barrel/Day in September 2022.

Dubai is home to more than 30 free zones targeting economic sectors ranging from transport and logistics to health care, media and technology. Each free zone provides private enterprises with world-class infrastructure, zero taxes and 100 percent ownership.

Dubai Integrated Economic Zones (DIEZ) Authority is an independent legal entity that governs the Dubai Airport Free Zone, Dubai Silicon Oasis and Dubai Commerce City. It boasts over 5,000 firms covering 20 key economic sectors and employing 30,000 employees, accounting for over 5 percent of Dubai’s GDP.

JAFZA (Jebel Ali Free Zone) has grown to 8,600+ companies today, including nearly 100 Global Fortune 500 enterprises. It enjoys a strategic global location combined with business-friendly policies and future-forward infrastructure.

The Dubai Airport Free Zone (DAFZA) is collocated with Dubai International Airport and provides an ideal gateway to markets in the Middle East, Europe, the Indian Subcontinent and the Far East.

DAFZA is home to 1,800+ registered businesses operating in more than 20 major industry sectors and employing 18,000+ professionals.

The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) was named the world’s leading free zone for the seventh consecutive year in 2021. The free zone is home to the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX), the Dubai Diamond Exchange, DMCC Coffee Centre, DMCC Tea Centre, and more than 20,000 companies ranging from start-ups to multinational corporations.

Dubai South is Dubai’s largest single urban master development supporting the city’s aviation and logistics sectors. The precinct is best known for housing Dubai World Central, Dubai’s newest international airport that will rank among the world’s largest in the coming decades.