A surge in government investment across the Middle East is expected to draw greater numbers of investors in emerging markets towards the region, according to investors at the UAE Global Investment Forum.
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A number of stimulus measures have been announced recently in countries around the region, including Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia, in most cases intended to fend off political unrest.
However, delegates said that the clear definition of Abu Dhabi's Vision 2030 plan for economic diversification, alongside the low inflation and political stability found in the UAE, offered the most obvious opportunities.
The UAE's network of partnerships were helping to steer the country towards further growth, according to Mohammed Omar Abdullah, undersecretary of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development.
"Established strategic alliances with different parts of the world… helps in overcoming adverse impact as a result of the pace of change."
Mubadala recently announced a shift in focus towards emerging markets as the Government-owned investment company studies investments in Brazil, Russia, India and China.
Rainer Schwarz, regional head of international institutional clients and asset management for Itaú Unibanco, the Sao Paolo-based bank which is the largest financial conglomerate in the southern hemisphere, said that a rebound in growth in emerging markets was finding its way to the Middle East.
Latin American investors were looking to add their natural advantages to areas where the UAE is lacking, such as food security, Mr Schwarz said. "They want to capitalise on the big themes - the hydrocarbons on one side and the services and consumer-related sectors that make up the bulk of GDP on the other."
"Lots of Brazilian corporates and Latin American corporates are already present in Abu Dhabi and the UAE. With a range of local governments and local institutions looking develop their interests in Latin American states, we're trying to foster such partnerships," he added.
Brazilian firms are also keen to participate in construction projects in Saudi Arabia, Mr Schwarz added. In March this year, a 250bn Saudi riyal spending plan to build 500,000 new houses was announced by King Abdullah, after unrest threatened political stability in the kingdom.
However, Dr Florence Eid, chief executive officer of Arabia Monitor, an economic research company, warned that the threat of further political instability would cloud investors' outlook for the Middle East in the near-term.
"We're entering into a decade where a lot of states around us will be volatile," she said. The potential threat of spillover from states like Yemen and Syria remained a significant question mark for the region, she said, and countries like Egypt would remain troubled if investments do not materialise.
Wealthy Gulf countries like the UAE would be best placed to play a leading role in ensuring regional cooperation on investment. "Nobody else has the money after the financial crisis," she said.