FAQs - about Dubai, the UAE and the Middle East – Part 5

1: What is the GCC?
2: What is the DIFC?
3: Is the UAE part of OPEC?
4: What does MENA stand for?
5: What is the currency of the UAE?
6: Why don’t they reach out to us more to tell us of all these developments?
7: Are they angry about the Dubai Ports deal? Do they understand our opinion?
8: Okay, you’ve said all the great things about Dubai, what about the down side?
9: Are you being paid by the government or some other group to say positive things?
10: Will the Middle East become an economic success story and end up like Japan in the 1950s and beyond as it is rebuilt?
 
 
1:What is the GCC?
 
It’s the Cooperation Council for the Arab states of the Gulf, often called the Gulf Cooperation Council or GCC, a group of six countries who cooperate economically, similar to NAFTA or the European Union. The six countries are UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. This is also a common term in the area.
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2:What is the DIFC?
 
The DIFC is the Dubai International Financial Center, a 170 acre city within a city that offers 100% foreign ownership and tax free corporate status to companies in the financial services sector. The laws of the DIFC are written in English and transactions are in US dollars.
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3:Is the UAE part of OPEC?
 
Yes, the UAE is a member of OPEC, a group of oil producing nations who cooperate on setting prices for their oil production sales.
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4:What does MENA stand for?
 
MENA stands for Middle East North Africa and is a very common term in the area among investment groups. North Africa includes Egypt, Morocco and Syria as well as the Middle East countries.
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5:What is the currency of the UAE?
 
The currency is the Dirham, which is typically pegged exactly and at a fixed rate to the US dollar. This fixed valuation is very interesting from a financial standpoint and is a large benefit to US and international banks and investment firms.
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6:Why don’t they reach out to us more to tell us of all these developments?
 
I can’t speak for anyone else. If you mean the government and tourism industry, I think they have reached out to us but perhaps it has been difficult to reach past some major misconceptions. Remember the world does not revolve around America. We are an important nation but we need to take responsibility to be a part of and to learn about our world. The door is open in Dubai and many other places across the globe for us to learn.
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7:Are they angry about the Dubai Ports deal? Do they understand our opinion?
 
I didn’t see anger, more like sadness or bewilderment. But this was not something I spoke with people about in any official capacity.
Honestly I don’t know if most people in the Dubai and the Middle East realize how many misconceptions there are here. This is part of their bewilderment. If they realized that most Americans think that Afghanistan and the UAE are the same place, the reasoning might make more sense to them.

To people in the area or who know anything at all about our world, this thinking makes no sense at all. Essentially the Dubai Ports decision punished Dubai based on total misunderstanding of the world: because of its religion and its relative proximity to countries we identify as enemies.

It’s sort of like being a doctor with millions of dollars and having a bank denying you a vacation home loan because someone two blocks away with the same basic religion had been arrested. It is no wonder they are bewildered by Congress’s actions.

The people of Dubai tend to interact with Americans who already “get it” - people who have already been there or very educated Americans or officials in the US. These Americans are not at all representative of the typical American knowledge level. I don’t think they realize the depth and scope of how little we know.
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8:Okay, you’ve said all the great things about Dubai, what about the down side?
 
One down side is that things are changing so fast that no one can be sure what will occur. For example with the real estate development of the city, we certainly have a very good idea which areas will be the nicest areas of town but no one can be certain.

Another drawback is that, just like the dot com era, with great opportunity comes great risk. There are some people in this market who are speculating heavily and overpaying for investments based on the hope that something will work out, this is risky.
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9:Are you being paid by the government or some other group to say positive things?
 
Not a cent. Thanks for the compliment though. I have no bias in favor of this region, just observation. To be honest, writing isn’t a very profitable part of my day but its fun and I’m glad that what I’ve written about Dubai has reached so many people.

If this seems overly advocate-like or positive it’s only because I think there is a lot to learn. The questions I am getting make me realize that even more needs to be learned than I thought.
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10:Will the Middle East become an economic success story and end up like Japan in the 1950s and beyond as it is rebuilt?
 
When you say the Middle East being “rebuilt” it makes me think that you might be generalizing.

Again, remember that Iraq and the UAE are very different. The UAE does not need any rebuilding and is already a large economic success story. To answer your question, there is little doubt that the entire Middle East is transforming and will continue to transform. This includes very positive changes from places like Dubai. The Dubai influence is spreading already to other nations in the Mid East and the success of the area is also employing people from other Mid East nations. Countries like the UAE are already like Japan in many respects: economically modernized and successful first world systems. The other countries you might be referring to hopefully will be helped by changes in the region and we will see a more successful entire region spreading all through the Middle East and North Africa as well as Asia.
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