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Hamdan says UAE committed to diversify further

In a statement at the Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund being held in Dubai, Shaikh Hamdan said: "We realise as we move forward and try to accelerate growth, we will have to diversify and further our economy and export base. As part of this strategy, the government is working to create a suitable investment climate that will enable Dubai to become an international financial centre as well as a popular tourist destination in the years to come.

He, however, pointed out that these are the early stages and much remains to be done.

"We must continue to develop our infrastructure, legislation and business climate if we are to attract additional investments and absorb our growing labour force," he added.

Speaking on the global context, Shaikh Hamdan emphasised the need for poverty reduction and said that advanced economies need to improve market access for developing countries and also reduce trade-distorting subsidies. This would reduce hunger and poverty throughout the world, he added.

"It was hoped that progress in this important area would be achieved during the recent meeting of the World Trade Organisation in Cancun. As this did not happen, we look forward to continued negotiations and we hope that the Board of Governors will issue a positive statement on the determination of all countries to cooperate on this crucial issue," he said.

Shaikh Hamdan also added that embracing free trade is equally important for developing countries. Their implementation of more open trade policies can potentially boost domestics productivity through increased competition, spur foreign direct investment, create employment opportunities and thus, raise the overall standard of living.

He also pointed out that the free flow of trade should be accompanied by a steady transfer of modern technologies of the developed world to the developing countries.

"It is regrettable that the technological gap between developed and developing countries is growing larger. The lack of technical assistance and technology is unfortunately denying developing countries a chance to participate fully in the global economy," he added.

Shaikh Hamdan said that as foreign direct investment is the main external driver for technology transfer, developing countries will need to create a domestic climate even more conducive to private sector activity if they wish to receive higher levels of FDI flows and reduce this technology gap.