UAE leads Arab region in enabling trade: WEF

Abu Dhabi – The UAE continues to lead the Arab region and is ranked 19th globally in the Global Enabling Trade Report 2012 released by the World Economic Forum (WEF). It also figures among the top 10 nations in Efficiency of Import-Export Procedures as well as Physical Security in the report covering 132 countries.
The Enabling Trade Index developed in consultation with key industry leaders, academics and international organisations in the trade arena measures the extent to which economies have developed institutions, policies and services facilitating the free flow of goods over borders and to destinations.
It assesses four key areas of performance, namely market access, border administration, transport and telecommunications infrastructure and the business environment, and sub-indices within these broad areas. The index provides a yardstick of countries’ performance in creating enabling trade environments and pin-pointing where improvements are most needed.
Shaikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister for Foreign Trade, said: “The Global Enabling Trade Report 2012 highlights the UAE’s excellent trade infrastructure and its resilience in the face of a global economic downturn. Our performance is significant in a world of rising global interdependence and growing international trade. The UAE has created competitive advantage in trade through targeted policies, infrastructure investment and innovation in improving the efficiency of its trade process”.