Keeping the peace key to keeping a thriving economy



Driving down Khaleej Al Arabi Street in Abu Dhabi this week was like driving through the set of the next Die Hard movie.

Grey helicopter gunships buzzed the highway in pairs. Naval patrol vessels, tooled up and kitted out with diamond-shaped Radar towers were being tied up at the water's edge by teams of smart sailors in UAE naval uniform just feet from the hard shoulder.

The bleacher-lined arena in front of the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre had its perimeter draped with cargo netting and camouflage scrim so that it looked like an impromptu black ops base set up by the roadside.

A few miles further on, towards Zayed Military City, and groups of soldiers in desert fatigues ran in platoon formation across the sands as camouflaged trucks and armoured personnel vehicles whizzed about. Above them, Air Force jets soared while a cargo plane prepared to land at Abu Dhabi airport.

There was nothing to worry about, of course. The extensive mobilisation of all three branches of the UAE Armed Forces at once did not mean an invasion force was headed up to Bab Al Bahr. No, this bristling display of military prowess was all in preparation for Idex, the much-anticipated International Defence Exhibition, taking place next week in Abu Dhabi and centred around the National Exhibition Centre.

And if the preparations were anything to go by, it promises to be quite a show.

There will be daily "choreographed displays" taking place on the water and on a purpose-built demonstration track, with the Grand Opening Day Parade on Sunday expected to be the highlight.

But none of this pomp and circumstance would be possible, or indeed worthwhile, had the UAE's defence industry not developed so rapidly in recent years.

From humble beginnings, the offset programme transformed into the Tawazun Economic Council, which just six years ago spawned Tawazun, a corporate umbrella housing technologically advanced manufacturers and designers, each of which is partnered with at least one international defence contractor.

The Emirates has one of the highest per capita defence budgets in the world, but all this development is not just about military might. It's about a rapid evolution of an industry that involves engineering, design, manufacturing and marketing.

It is about education, training, apprenticeships, scholarships and employment.

About 60 per cent of the workforce engaged with Tawazun projects are Emirati and almost all of them are receiving world-class education and vocational training to equip them for the high-tech jobs of tomorrow.

This and the creation of a self-sufficient national defence force to protect the UAE's borders are noble and necessary causes indeed, but they are only half the story told by the companies and agencies on display at Idex.

As people of this region know too well, in the wrong hands such hardware and know-how has the opposite effect to that which the UAE is working so hard to promote.

Far from creating economic opportunity and building an economy based on high-tech innovation and manufacturing, conflict is purely a destructive force.

One need only look to our neighbours in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Afghanistan for evidence of this.

A couple of years ago I came across a study of the economic cost of conflict by Strategic Foresight Group, an Indian think tank.

The organisation produced a strikingly detailed account of conflict in the Middle East from 1991 to 2010 and concluded that the various civil campaigns had cost the countries of the region as much as US$13 trillion (Dn47.75tn) in lost economic opportunity.

It seems the bigger the economy, the more opportunity is lost during regional conflict.

On this basis, "The opportunity cost for 1991-2010 appeared largest for Saudi Arabia at $4.5tn or one third of the total opportunity loss incurred by 13 countries in the region," the report claimed.

However, compared with the size of its economy, Iraq suffered the largest loss with the Strategic Foresight calculations showing that the country's GDP could have been more than 30 times its present size had it not been for a decade of war on its soil.

China and the United States, the most successful economies on Earth, have been involved in many conflicts in the past century, but not at home.

Pearl Harbor aside, America has never fought a war on its home turf. Since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1950, China has enjoyed relative peace at home - discounting border wars with India in 1962 and Vietnam in 1979.

Not having to cope with the destruction and distraction of domestic conflict has allowed both economies to flourish almost unhindered.

There are many more human arguments in opposition to war but cold, hard economics is not so easy to ignore. Keeping the peace, it seems, is the only way to prosperity. This maxim should be remembered at Idex next week and beyond.

BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES

(All games 4-3pm kick UAE time) Bayern Munich v Augsburg, Borussia Dortmund v Bayer Leverkusen, Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin, Wolfsburg v Mainz , Eintracht Frankfurt v Freiburg, Union Berlin v RB Leipzig, Cologne v Schalke , Werder Bremen v Borussia Monchengladbach, Stuttgart v Arminia Bielefeld

Cryopreservation: A timeline
  1. Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
  2. Ovarian tissue surgically removed
  3. Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
  4. Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
  5. Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
What is blockchain?

Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.

The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.

Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.

However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.

Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.

UAE v Gibraltar

What: International friendly

When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Du Football Champions

The fourth season of du Football Champions was launched at Gitex on Wednesday alongside the Middle East’s first sports-tech scouting platform.“du Talents”, which enables aspiring footballers to upload their profiles and highlights reels and communicate directly with coaches, is designed to extend the reach of the programme, which has already attracted more than 21,500 players in its first three years.