While the UAE may lack the snowy peaks and alpine vistas of Switzerland or the culinary and horological masterpieces for which the Swiss are known, the Emirati leadership is quietly building the foundation for a new role – that of the "Switzerland of the Middle East”.
The tumultuous Arab uprisings, and the ensuing turmoil in Egypt, served as a crucial inflection point for the UAE's customary approach to regional conflicts. The ascendance of Islamist groups and their potential to destabilise the Middle East posed a direct challenge to the UAE's own security and stability. Consequently, the Emirati leadership responded by adopting a more interventionist approach to the region’s conflicts, such as the decision to militarily intervene in Yemen. This approach marked a departure from the UAE's long-held position as a quasi-neutral regional player as the region itself changed. Instead, the eraushered in a more assertive and proactive role for the UAE, which US former Centcom head Gen James Mattis once likened to "a little Sparta".
Despite the prevailing challenges, the Emirati leadership has opted for a fresh approach, ingeniously seizing the economic prospects brought forth by the post-pandemic landscape. On the other hand, by astutely responding to ongoing geopolitical and military conundrums, such as the situation in Ukraine, the UAE fortified its position as a neutral arbitrator and mediator par excellence.
Owing to its strategic geographical positioning, congenial business climate, state-of-the-art infrastructure, tax-friendly environment and forward-thinking policies, the UAE has emerged as a veritable lodestone for international investment, a financial epicentre, and a nexus of trade, all of which hinge on the maintenance of stability.
The county is set to experience a substantial boost in financial wealth, with a predicted compound annual growth rate of 6.7 per cent, leading to more than $1 trillion by 2026, thanks to the influx of high-net-worth individuals (HNWI),according to recent reports. In the post-pandemic era, Dubai alone saw its HNWI population surge by 18 per cent, propelling the emirate to the top spot in the Mena region.
Yet, the Emiratis have surpassed merely mirroring Switzerland's blueprint of being a global wealth management hub and a neutral arbiter in the complex realm of international politics. Instead, Abu Dhabi formulated its unique model, centred on cutting-edge industries, global alliances and partnerships, and influential soft-power projection. Skilfully blending these three components has propelled the UAE towards this newfound, multifaceted role, both politically and economically.
The India-UAE High-Level Joint Task Force on Investments meeting in Abu Dhabi, Abdulla Al Neyadi / UAE Presidential Court
The UAE's first strategic choice is to be more Swiss and less Spartan
The UAE has adopted a proactive foreign policy that recognises the urgent need for regional countries to come together and establish new economic, security and political frameworks to ensure regional security and stability, in light of Washington's strategic shift to disengage from the Middle East. Accordingly, the UAE champions several significant endeavours involving Arab nations and, in some cases, collaboration between Arab countries and Israel. Abu Dhabi has set aside funding, which by certain calculations amounts to $18 billion, for the construction of an oil pipeline connecting the southern Iraqi city of Basra to the Jordanian port of Aqaba. Concurrently, the UAE has fostered a strategic accord between Jordan and Israel encompassing the establishment of a 600-megawatt solar energy facility, complete with an electrical energy storage system situated in Jordan, aimed at generating clean power for export to Israel. As a reciprocal measure, Israel will embark on a programme to develop sustainable desalination initiatives, supplying Jordan with an estimated 200 million cubic metres of treated water each year.
Moreover, since the latter part of 2021, the UAE demonstrated its nimble diplomatic prowess by making significant strides in reconciling with former adversaries, mainly restoring full diplomatic relations with Iran and Turkey. Notably, the UAE played an earlier leading role in brokering the Abraham Accords, historic peace agreements with Israel that paved the way for Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco to join the normalisation club with Israel.
In the cases of Turkey and Israel, the UAE pursued a path of peaceful reconciliation, anchored by robust economic agreements and trade arrangements. Through this approach, it sought to establish enduring common interests that reflect the UAE's unwavering commitment to tangible actions and concrete results, rather than mere rhetoric, when it comes to building stable and constructive relationships with its neighbours.
The UAE’s expanding trade agreements with Turkey, India, Indonesia and Israel, in addition to pre-existing deals within the Arab world, forge connections to new markets encompassing more than 2.2 billion people and entwining the country’s economy with a remarkable 10 per cent of global economy.
In a bold demonstration of the UAE's commitment to confronting obstacles and fostering alliances as a resolute and long-lasting strategy, President Sheikh Mohamed recently opted to withdraw Abu Dhabi's bid to host the 2026 World Bank and International Monetary Fund meeting. In a conciliatory gesture, Sheikh Mohamed extended his support to Doha as a prospective host.
During the donor conference for the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen, the Minister of State, Noura Al Kaabi, expressed the UAE's commitment to aiding the Yemeni people and called for international efforts to achieve peace in Yemen in 2023. The UAE has already provided Yemen with $6.6bn in aid since 2015, and this year it will continue its support for reconstruction and rehabilitation projects with approximately $325 million.
In a trailblazing move in 2018, the UAE engaged with the Assad regime, despite scant support from fellow Arab nations. This stance has since gained traction, with key regional players, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia, following suit in the wake of the Turkey-Syria earthquake, marking a watershed moment in the UAE's ascent as an Arab trendsetter. Last Sunday, Sheikh Mohamed received Syrian President Bashar Al Assad in Abu Dhabi, where the two leaders discussed the stability in the Middle East.
Internationally, the UAE played a pivotal role in facilitating a prisoner swap agreement between Russia and Ukraine, which was reportedly linked to the resumption of Russian ammonia exports to Asia and Africa via Ukrainian Black Sea ports. Moreover, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh mediated the release of American basketball player Brittney Griner from Russia through another prisoner swap that took place after Sheikh Mohamed’s visit to Moscow last October.
The Great Mosque of Al Nuri in Mosul, Iraq, and its famous leaning minaret were blown up by ISIS militants in 2017 and are being rebuilt with help from Unesco and the UAE. Haider Husseini / The National
Further, the UAE's notable standing as the 10th-most influential soft power player globally and the top-ranked Middle Eastern nation, according to the Global Soft Power Index, emphasises its expanding influence on the global scene. The UAE's unwavering commitment to enhancing its soft-power capabilities, as evidenced by hosting prestigious events such as Expo 2020, increasing foreign aid allocations, and embarking on a Mars mission, bears witness to its steadfast ambition to become a formidable force in global affairs.
Showcasing its soft power and commitment to promoting hope and tolerance, the UAE has forged a partnership with Unesco, in pursuit of the visionary "Revive the Spirit of Mosul" initiative. This co-operative endeavour aims to breathe new life into Mosul's historic architecture and treasured heritage sites, with a particular focus on reconstructing the city's famed Al Nouri Mosque and its 45-metre tall Al Hadba minaret, a landmark built in 1172 by Seljuk ruler Nour Al Din Zanki, which bestowed upon Mosul its nickname, Al Hadba. Also, the UAE's generous $50m grant has facilitated the restoration of the famous Dominican Al Saa'a Church and Al Tahera Catholic Church, underscoring the nation's ongoing dedication to the preservation of cultural legacies and the advancement of global understanding and tolerance.
Nestled on the banks of the Tigris River in northern Iraq, the historic city of Mosul – whose name in Arabic signifies "The Connector" – has served as a vibrant nexus of cultures, civilisations and faiths. A crucial hub of commerce on the Silk Road, Mosul has welcomed a diverse array of communities, including Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, Assyrians and Armenians, as well as Muslims, Christians and Jews. The city's 2014 capture and subsequent three-year occupation by ISIS was a targeted assault on the ideals and symbolism that Mosul has long embodied. The commitment to rebuild the city is a powerful counter-message, affirming the restoration of public spaces as a means to foster co-existence, tolerance and hope for a brighter future.
However, the UAE's ambition to become the "Switzerland of the Middle East" is not without its challenges. One major challenge the country faces is competition from other regional players, who are also seeking to establish themselves as dominant political and economic centres in the region.
The Middle East is a challenging and enduring neighbourhood made for marathon runners, not for sprinters. The UAE is a marathoner, guided by the values of “Zayed Doctrine” of positive communication, regional dialogue good neighbourliness, stability, development and prosperity.
Its first strategic choice is to be more Swiss and less Spartan.
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
UAE v Zimbabwe A, 50 over series
Fixtures
Thursday, Nov 9 - 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
Saturday, Nov 11 – 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
Monday, Nov 13 – 2pm, Dubai International Stadium
Thursday, Nov 16 – 2pm, ICC Academy, Dubai
Saturday, Nov 18 – 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier
UAE results
Beat China by 16 runs
Lost to Thailand by 10 wickets
Beat Nepal by five runs
Beat Hong Kong by eight wickets
Beat Malaysia by 34 runs
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.
There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.
Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood. Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues. Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity. Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs
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Stage result
1. Pascal Ackermann (GER) Bora-Hansgrohe, in 3:29.09
2. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto-Soudal
3. Rudy Barbier (FRA) Israel Start-Up Nation
4. Dylan Groenewegen (NED) Jumbo-Visma
5. Luka Mezgec (SLO) Mitchelton-Scott
6. Alberto Dainese (ITA) Sunweb
7. Jakub Mareczko (ITA) CCC
8. Max Walscheid (GER) NTT
9. José Rojas (ESP) Movistar
10. Andrea Vendrame (ITA) Ag2r La Mondiale, all at same time
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
