On Sunday, the United Arab Emirates unveiled a master plan to stimulate the economy and liberalize strict residency rules for expatriates as part of their efforts to reform finances and attract residents and foreign capital.
They want to be a dynamic and open business and financial hub and will invest $13.6 billion (11.6 billion euros) next year and $150 billion (126.3 billion euros) by 2030, according to the Associated Press on Sunday, adding that they also want to attract foreign talent in the coming decades. .
This plan reflects the contrast that has emerged with other parts of the Persian Gulf, which have become more protectionist as they try to diversify their oil-related economies, he points out.
Economic and social reforms are being accelerated in the UAE with the aim of anticipating the future of the post-Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are building the new economy for the next 50 years,” Economy Minister Abdullah bin Touq said in an interview with The Associated Press.
“For those who are trying to be more conservative and trying to close their markets, the value obtained will only be in the short term, but in the long run they are hurting their economies,” the official warned.
However, despite a series of far-reaching economic development initiatives, the UAE is involved in a more practical and radical measure, which concerns the visa regime that manages many foreign workers from Africa, the Middle East and the country. Other places that are driving the economy.
Since the UAE’s independence, the state has linked employment to residency status, giving entrepreneurs tremendous power and forcing people to leave the country soon after they stop working.
“We want to rebuild the entire system (…) so that the housing model will attract people and make them feel that the UAE is their home,” Bin Touq said.
“Openness is something we are proud of,” he added.
The new plans give residents three more months to look for other jobs after they become unemployed, allow parents to apply for visas for children up to age 25 and ease restrictions on self-employed people, widows and divorcees, among other measures.
This is a slight shift in the UAE’s traditional way of treating its large foreign workforce, which until now was considered an expendable lower class.
The minister also said that they seek to double the growth of the UAE economy in the next decade through major trade agreements with countries such as Israel, Turkey, the United Kingdom and India.
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