Today's Edition
KHALED AL KHAWALDEH (Abu Dhabi)
Former French politician Jean-Pierre Raffarin hailed the UAE's role as a meeting point where countries could come together, and this distinctive quality made the country an attractive location.
Speaking on the second day of the Investopia conference which concluded in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, Raffarin said he believes that the future lies in open trade and global cooperation despite the recent political and economic shift away from globalisation.
"I'm very happy to be there. There is one main reason, the reason is you are a country where we can talk with the USA and with China, and it's very important," he said.
"I think your place could be a place where we can discuss our new balance in the world. If you want to be international, you have to work with China and you have to work with the USA. We don't want to choose. We need to work together."
His comments came during a session that explored the various "white and black swan" events that could cause major disruption to economies in the coming years.
He was joined on stage by Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, the UAE's Minister of Economy, who warned against various risks including AI preparedness, global pandemics and the growing debt crisis.
"We need to be very agile and adapted. And so, we need to really understand where we are going," Al Marri said.
"How do we adapt our paths? How do you adapt our trade rules, our investments globally, and how do we make changes as well to adapt to world challenges."
Al Marri said he was particularly concerned by high borrowing rates in the private sector during sustained periods of high interest rates.
He said any future debt crisis would likely take hold in the private sector, and he believes governments have to be alert and proactive to manage the impact.
"When the interest rate goes down, the paying back of these debts at higher interest rates will be a huge complication for the private sector," Al Marri said.
"What we hope is the reduction of the interest rates for the next few years should be slow and gradual. The central banks in the world are already doing that."
Al Marri said countries in the region and beyond had become more adaptable and resilient to large shockwaves in the economy, which would stand them in good stead for the tumultuous times that lie ahead.
"What we're seeing in the region and globally is more cities and countries becoming more and more agile, and thinking more and more about the future and how to prepare themselves," he added.
