UAE among top 10 nations best equipped for global change – KPMG

The UAE has been ranked fifth in the world among the countries best equipped to respond to growing political, economic and social changes in a new index compiled by consultancy KPMG and Oxford Economics.

The KPMG 2015 Change Readiness index ranked 127 countries for their capacity to prepare for and respond to accelerating change brought about by natural disasters, economic and political shocks, demographics and new technologies.

The countries were rated in terms of their enterprise capability, government capability and people and civil society capability.

The UAE was featured for the first time on the index.

Head of Markets at KPMG Lower Gulf Vikas Papriwal said: “The UAE’s non-oil sector has been growing rapidly, largely due to initiatives by the government to boost the private and government sector.

“The CRI measures business environment, government capability, including fiscal, regulatory and security aspects and people and civil society capability, including civil society institutions, education, health and technology access – something that the UAE has successfully achieved over the past decade.”

The government’s role in encouraging entrepreneurship and SMEs will also lead to long-term economic development, he added.

The UAE has been aggressively diversifying its economy and earlier this month, the country’s VP and PM and Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum confirmed that 2014 was the Emirates’ strongest ever economic year since its foundation.

The government also recently announced the UAE Innovation strategy to further boost interest and job creation in seven critical sectors – renewable energy, transport, education, health, technology, water and space.

Apart from the UAE, Qatar was the only other GCC state that made it to the top 20 on the list at number seven.

Overall, the index was topped by Singapore, followed by Switzerland, Hong Kong and Norway.

“The CRI is designed so that users can drill down in each of the pillars for an in-depth picture of a country’s performance for each capability, gaining an understanding of why some nations perform better than others, and what could be done to close the gap,” said CEO of Oxford Economics Adrian Cooper.

“Change readiness is complex, and the CRI enables governments, NGOs and private investors to go beyond headlines, unravel this complexity and ultimately make more informed decisions.”