In the UAE, The National columnists urged cities to strengthen cooperation
In the UAE, Badr Jafar and Parag Khanna, in a column for The National, called on the world’s leading cities to strengthen financial, technological and logistical ties. In their view, global economic centres not only compete for capital and specialists but also depend on one another through flows of goods, data, investment and people.
The authors note that the ten largest cities account for nearly 20% of global gross domestic product. They believe that cities’ resilience during crises depends on access to markets, capital, infrastructure, institutions and talent, as well as on already established partnerships.
Examples of the UAE and Singapore
As an example of coordination within a country, Jafar and Khanna cite the UAE’s seven emirates. They mention Abu Dhabi’s capital markets, Dubai’s trade and logistics role, and the ports of Sharjah and Fujairah on the east coast, which give the country access beyond the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the columnists, before disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, Khor Fakkan handled around 1,500 containers per week, while by July this figure had exceeded 50,000 containers. More than 8,000 trucks transported cargo inland and to ports in the upper part of the Persian Gulf every day. The authors link this growth to corridors and partnerships established before the crisis.
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Singapore is described in the column as another example of a small, open and trade-dependent state. The authors recalled the country’s separation from Malaysia in 1965, the Asian financial crisis and the SARS epidemic, after which Singapore, in their assessment, strengthened its institutions and diversified its economy.
Trade and new routes
Bilateral trade between the UAE and Singapore exceeds $20 billion, the column states. Last year, the countries completed a pilot project on digital cross-border trade finance and signed an agreement on cooperation in artificial intelligence. The authors also note that trade turnover between the UAE and Hong Kong reached $15 billion.
In Jafar and Khanna’s view, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor and the Middle Corridor through Central Asia indicate a desire to reduce dependence on individual bottlenecks in global trade. They propose that aviation hubs, ports, financial centres and technology corridors develop reserve capacity, data exchange and mutual recognition mechanisms.
