ABU DHABI, June 27- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is among the world’s best places to live, work and study, reports Emirates News Agency (WAM) quoting a local newspaper as saying Tuesday.
The National, in its editorial comment said a flurry of news stories in the past few days reveals how the country’s prosperity, stability and opportunity have combined to make the UAE one of the world’s most attractive places.
Citing the “Evidence: A survey by YouGov”, covering the whole Middle East and North Africa region, the National said the survey found 90 per cent of young adults like the idea of working in the UAE.
At a time when economies all over the world are stagnating or shrinking, and when the region has its economic problems, the UAE’s overall output rose by 7.7 per cent between 2011 and 2012, the Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi announced recently.
“Better still, that growth included a robust 9.6 per cent expansion in the non-oil portion of the economy. As official planning reflects both at the national level and in individual emirates, building up elements of the economy beyond the oil and gas sector is essential. A diverse mixture of industries, supported by a sound education system, will obviously be vital to the country’s long-term prosperity,” according to the Abu Dhabi-based paper.
Growth of almost 10 per cent a year in the non-oil economy attracts plenty of attention, the paper said.
In another question on the YouGov poll, 80 per cent of respondents across the Mena region said they see the UAE as a desirable place to start a business.
The UAE trailed only the United States, United Kingdom and Canada as the place where young people from the region would most like to attend university, the English language paper remarked.
“Surging consumer confidence and high sales have made the UAE the fifth most attractive retail destination among emerging markets,” the paper said, adding that beyond wealth, the country is an oasis of stability amid the troubles of the Arab Spring and the region’s other conflicts.
“Emiratis and expatriates alike are entitled to take some well-earned satisfaction in what we have accomplished together,” the paper said.
– BERNAMA
