Back from the Emirates: will the Abraham Accords bring sustainable deals to the region?

4' video to watch here

Following the Abraham Accords, Anne Baer talked at the Dubai Climate Change Forum, participating in a panel on economic prosperity in the Middle East and south of the Mediterranean region.

An occasion to discover the Emirates, a federation open to cleantech and innovation and aiming at importing talents from Israel. A place where European governments, companies and consultants hold a preeminent position in local banking, investment, energy production, infrastructures and many more key sectors of the economy.

Anne Baer visited 6 out of the 7 emirates, Abu Dhabi the political capital being still too strict to non-resident entries, due to Covid regulations.

Local families and tribe chiefs - altogether 100,000 people a few decades ago - are implementing a long-term vision, to host a population of 50 million people on their sunny and sandy soil. They have planned their political integration to each other since the 60s, their energy transition and economic transition from oil based revenues to a knowledge based open innovation ecosystem. Their governance and ruling system based on monarchy, a broad and competent administration layer, and in-house experts from all over the world seems to bear its fruits.

The Emirates have become a global business hub between Asia, Africa and Europe, with an increasing number of tourists choosing to stay and live there, somehow out of time and place, right in the middle of the globalized world and a rather Covid safe highly vaccinated country. Indians represent half (!) of the population and hold most of the service positions.

Lots of partnerships are being signed these days (some talk about over a thousand) between the Emirates and Israel. Provided that Israelis learn patience and the Emiratis learn to work with their straightforward new friends, these partnerships on paper will hopefully prove to also have an economic bottom line.

4' video to watch here