Future Developmental Prospects of the UAE

Over the past decades, the UAE has been engaging in a variety of diversification strategies to move away from its dependency on natural resources and to transition to a knowledge-based economy. Despite multiple successes that ushered in the enhancement of industrial sectors such as tourism and hospitality, aerospace, renewable energy, financial services, and real estate, many issues still need to be addressed if the country wishes to maintain its current pace of economic and technological development. This concluding chapter discusses various challenges that the UAE needs to overcome, particularly in the fields of innovation, corporate governance, primary and secondary education, family business sustainability, and environmental performance, in order to reach higher levels of national competiveness. Drawing upon recent accomplishments across multiple industries and outlining several developmental scenarios for the future, this chapter aims to provide opportunities for a constructive debate on how the UAE can continue its journey of sustainable growth and development.