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UAE's WTO preparedness

They have not only been trying to rouse a public hue and cry against it, but have been indicating that its very provisions are uncouth and draconian. As a matter of fact in reality, WTO is great leveler of global economic inconsistencies should we all work to achieve its true objectives.

WTO is nothing but a consolidation of bilateral trade agreements between member countries that have been agreed to or finalised after mutual agreements based on bilateral economic, political and social interests. Through this platform, member nations have created a global forum to air their point of views and differences if any mainly pertaining to trade and economy.

UAE's position vis-a-vis WTO and the issues therein, is by and large the same. Ever since the country's entry as a member in early nineties it has been leading on the WTO's preparedness front, and today can be counted among one of the few nations that has taken the challenge in the right perspective. UAE's role in this regard is worth commending. Should we look at the country's economic parametres vis-a-vis it's GDP in late eighties and compare it to now, we see a smooth and dynamic transition. From oil to non oil, trading to services in terms of percentage of its GDP, it has been a story of true diversification. Indeed, the credit for this accomplishment goes to the vision of the country's leadership and their farsightedness foreseeing challenges that would have been posed to them due to globalisation.

Till the early 1990's the UAE and Dubai in particular enjoyed a dominant status in regional trade. It was by far the largest regional/international hub for trading community in Middle East , north and east Africa, Iran ,Iraq etc. In this context, should we look at the some of the key economic data, we can see how well UAE and Dubai in particular has managed the shift from trading to services that forms a significant block in terms of the country's gross domestic product.

One thing very spectacular about this transformation has been the adaptability of the UAE especially against the backdrop of the global changes and the economic stimulus given through the farsight and determined leadership of the country. The daunting task of diversification from oil based GDP to trading, services, investments etc may have been difficult otherwise.

UAE's economy, till early nineties was heavily reliant on Trade and the development was largely private sector driven. Later in anticipation of changes that was happening internationally i.e. the globalisation of markets, drive for economic reforms in the emerging markets and the emergence of China, UAE aptly geared itself to face this change, something that was was posing a challenge to its position as a trading hub. Therefore, its decision to invest billions through government funding to develop state-of-art infrastructure in terms roads, ports, airports, hotels and opening of investments through free zone initiates was well orchestrated. In fact this was a great strategy, which not only to countered threats to its regional positioning, but also acted as an economic booster to herald the overall growth.

In early nineties, the perceived threats to Dubai economy as a trading hub were well meaning. As globalisation became a buzzword the world over, there was the need for a level playing field for the launch of WTO in true spirits. This also led traders in Africa and elsewhere to start looking for newer markets, cutting out the intermediaries and their markets such as Dubai.

This move was primarily aided by the information that was made available in abundance through internet and also factors like lifting of traveling curbs in terms of visa, liberalised tariff regimes etc.

Another factor that by and large affected the global trade was the 1997 South Asian Economic turmoil.

These crises in fact played a pivotal role prompting suppliers and manufactures from these countries to look for newer and profitable markets leaving out the intermediary markets.

Dubai did well to anticipate these developments and position itself by creating competitive edge through development of infrastructure, rationalisation of duties, offering travelling sops to businessmen among a host of other initiatives.

In context to WTO, the UAE not only ensured its economic preparedness but also diversified its economic activity thereby setting an example before others member countries, which are still jostling and are groping to handle the impending challenges of WTO. Whilst In case of UAE too there is a long road to go to but since the beginning was encouraging, I am sure of its future success too.