Combating coronavirus: UAE calls for deescalation in region to focus on virus

Dubai - Gargash said countries would be focused inwards on the ramifications of the pandemic that disrupted business globally.

The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday stressed the need for deescalation in the region to allow countries to focus on "the hurricane" caused by the coronavirus pandemic and review development models.
Asked during a webinar organised by Beirut Institute Summit whether there was concern that Iran may provoke a confrontation in the region, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said: "We need to really concentrate on de-escalation."
"The region, like all regions in the world, is going to be financially and politically weaker. We would be wise to think about our development models, about de-escalation and to try some problem-solving," Gargash said.
Gargash said countries would be focused inwards on the ramifications of the pandemic that disrupted business globally.
He said Gulf energy producers, also hit by a collapse in oil prices, would need to accelerate economic diversification plans.
"We will have a lot of questions about what constitutes a Gulf rentier state model. We've been for many years trying to escape that model with varying degrees of success, but I think this is going to accelerate the necessity for us to find something a little bit more sustainable," Gargash said.
He said labour market imbalances have also emerged as a major issue though it was "too early" for any restructuring.
"The Gulf has depended on a large number of blue-collar expatriates ... Is this model that has been part and parcel of the development model in the region since the 1950s and maybe before, is this sustainable the same way, should it be tweaked or not?" Gargash said.