The UAE is the most connected country in the Arab world and is in the top 25 globally, according to the DHL 2012 Global Connectedness Index, published yesterday.
That puts it only three places behind the United States in the flow of trade, capital, information and people.
However, the index also shows that the world today is less globally connected than it was in 2007.
The courier company’s index measures and analyses the global connectedness of 140 countries, covering 99 per cent of the world’s GDP and 95 per cent of its population. Drawing on more than one million data points between 2005 and 2011, it shows how global connectedness grew robustly from the report’s baseline year to 2007, before dropping sharply at the onset of the financial crisis.
“Despite modest gains since 2009, global connectedness has yet to recapture its pre-crisis peak. The [index] indicates that today’s volatile and uncertain business environment bears the lasting impact of the financial crisis,” said Frank Appel, the chief executive of Deutsche Post DHL.
“Especially in this period of slow growth, it’s important to remember the tremendous gains that globalisation has brought to the world’s citizens and to recognise it as an engine of economic progress. Above all, governments must resist protectionist measures that hinder cross-border interactions.” The index reveals the UAE is 23rd worldwide for connectivity, and that the Middle East, North Africa region is the fourth-most connected globally.
The Netherlands retained its 2010 position as the world’s most connected country. Of the top 10, nine are in Europe, the world’s most connected region.
The least connected country is Burundi in sub-Saharan Africa. However, other sub-Saharan countries – Mozambique, Togo, Ghana, Guinea and Zambia – were among those with the largest increases in their global connectedness scores from 2010 to 2011. While this region remains the world’s least connected, it averaged the largest connectedness increases from 2010 to 2011.
The index says: “In light of research indicating that deepening global connectedness can be a powerful lever for increasing prosperity, this report’s findings of limited and faltering global connectedness imply that strengthening countries’ connectedness offers large untapped potential to help accelerate economic recovery.”
The index also notes a “broad shift of economic activity toward emerging markets that has accelerated since the onset of the financial crisis: 72 per cent of GDP growth around the world from 2008 to 2011 took place in emerging market countries.”
dblack@thenational.ae
Grand Slam Los Angeles results
Men:
56kg – Jorge Nakamura
62kg – Joao Gabriel de Sousa
69kg – Gianni Grippo
77kg – Caio Soares
85kg – Manuel Ribamar
94kg – Gustavo Batista
110kg – Erberth Santos
Women:
49kg – Mayssa Bastos
55kg – Nathalie Ribeiro
62kg – Gabrielle McComb
70kg – Thamara Silva
90kg – Gabrieli Pessanha
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures:
Monday, 1st 50-over match
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
