Live updates: US and Iran agree to conditional ceasefire
The truth, of course, is that all the above are linked. A country’s ability to keep importing, exporting and investing is directly linked to the contents of its people’s wallets – especially in challenging times. In the UAE, as is the case around the region, the Iran war is causing heightened uncertainty and having an economic impact, but a closer look reveals a more business-as-usual attitude than one might expect.
Earlier this week, the World Trade Organisation ranked the UAE among the world’s top 10 exporters for the first time, up from 17th place just five years ago. The Emirates’ role as a global logistics centre, its considerable investment in domestic manufacturing, its diversified economy and portfolio of CEPA deals with other countries all help to explain its strong position.
Although one might expect a country under daily attack to put economic deals on the back burner, there is plenty of evidence that the opposite is happening. As the war raged in late March, Blackstone – the world's biggest alternative asset manager – announced a $250 million investment in Advanced Digital Gaming Technology, an Abu Dhabi platform that aims to build payments and compliance infrastructure for regulated digital markets.
Meanwhile, global investors with $20 trillion in assets are pressing ahead with Gulf expansion despite Iran war. Companies including BlackRock and State Street have said the conflict has not changed their perspectives on the UAE and broader regional markets.
The energy sector is also looking robust. At the start of April, Abu Dhabi clean energy company Masdar and France’s TotalEnergies agreed to merge their onshore renewable energy businesses in nine Asian countries and create a new joint venture worth $2.2 billion.
When the above are considered alongside strong state intervention – for example, Dubai’s Dh1 billion ($272 million) stimulus package for small businesses and this week’s announcement that the UAE is preparing a significant package for the tourism sector – one can see a clear determination to lock in long-term trade and investment ties despite the current uncertainty.
For citizens and residents, this amounts to a shock absorber that can cushion the blow of what is a difficult time for the world's economy. Without previous investment in key sectors and a push to keep doing business internationally, the effects could be detrimental.
This is not to dismiss the reality of increased prices and general uncertainty but the UAE’s strategy thus far reveals a country that is keenly aware of the link between the macro and the micro when it comes to the economy, and has laid the necessary foundations for whatever the future may hold.
