INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Abstract

When the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were created in 1971, the federal government paid
little attention to industry. Apart from hydrocarbons (oil and gas) whose exploitation mainly
took place in Abu Dhabi, the seven emirates lacked other natural resources. Other factors
contributed to the subordination of industrial development. The UAE had a very small population
and therefore no
manpower to work in the factories. The domestic market was also limited.
The oil revenues generated a rentier-state mentality among the local population. Meanwhile,
a minority of Emiratis and Arabs already living in the UAE engaged in business, called for the
foresight of the federal government and the government of Abu Dhabi’s support in the matter
of industrial autonomy rather than dependence. The two decades that followed independence
showed the leading role of Dubai in the industrialisation of the UAE. Beyond the strategic
choice of diversifying economic activities, the emirate, and namely the Maktoum family,
modernised the spirit of moving on for survival. Security was not conceived as the support of
local production to satisfy domestic needs, but rather as the ability to generate enough wealth
to support a growing and forward-looking population. To a certain extent, the Japanese model
influenced Dubai and the UAE more than the old industrialised European or North-American
countries.