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Dubai: The UAE will set up a national panel to enhance the business environment and make it more attractive to foreign investors.
Minister for Cabinet Affairs Mohammad Al Gergawi said the Emirates National Competitiveness Council will be a public-private sector initiative with government representation at the federal and local levels.
He said the council will develop and recommend policies to boost the competitiveness of the UAE in economic and social areas.
"Trade and investment are critical building blocks in the UAE's drive for econ-omic expansion and growth. As our economy develops we need to understand and perfect the reasons that attract foreign investments and enable new businesses to flourish at a time when global competition is becoming more intense," the minister told a business forum at the Dubai International Finance Centre yesterday.
Al Gergawi said the government has made significant progress in creating a good environment for business and the country ranked eighth on AT Kearney's FDI confidence index in 2007. The index ranks the attractiveness of countries in the eyes of foreign investors.
Foreign investments
According to a report by the Ministry of Economy in December, foreign direct investments in the UAE reached Dh68.63 billion in 2006, up 10.8 per cent from the previous year.
Al Gergawi said there was room to improve the UAE's business climate. "We still ranked 37th in the World Economic Forum's global competitiveness report and 68th in the World Bank's Doing Business," he said.
Despite expressing concerns over the methodologies used in preparing the Doing Business reports, the minister said there are still challenges that need tackled for the UAE to achieve its economic targets.
Dahlia Khalifa, senior strategy adviser to the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group, outlined key findings of "Doing Business 2008", which covered 178 countries.
The UAE ranks among the top 10 countries in the areas of registering property and paying taxes regulations. However, it ranks 158th in the area of starting a business, 115th in getting credit, 144th in enforcing contracts and 139th in closing a business.
"While the UAE ranks ahead in several areas, reforms in a few indicators will make it easier for entrepreneurs in the UAE to do business," Khalifa said.
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