Sharjah24 – WAM: The United Arab Emirates ranked the first Arab country, the 3rd out of 27 emerging global economies and the 23rd globally out of 123 countries in the Future Readiness Index report, published by the Portulans Institute in partnership with Google.
The report aims to provide countries with a valuable tool to measure their future preparedness and serve as a guide for their strategic choices and political decisions.
The results of the Readiness for the Future Index were announced during a virtual session titled “Innovative Tools to Improve a Digital Future”, organized as part of the 11th Concordia Annual Summit 2021.
The session saw the participation of Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and Future, as well as Tan Kiat How, Minister of Communications and Information – Republic of Singapore; Kent Walker, Senior Vice President of Global Affairs – Google; Kate Wilson, CEO of Digital Impact Alliance at the United Nations Foundation; and moderated by Bruno Lanvin, Co-founder of the Portulans Institute.
Speakers highlighted the most pressing challenges and opportunities of the post COVID-19 era, and the need to improve digital transformation readiness and agility by embracing modern technology, attracting and developing talent and by stimulating innovation.
Ohood Al Roumi: Comprehensive Review of Frameworks, Legislation and Policies Ohood Al Roumi pointed out that the UAE’s high performance on future readiness indicators reflects the ambitious vision and philosophy of UAE leaders to prepare for the future and adopt innovation as the cornerstone of global development. Accelerating digital transformation has played a critical role in ensuring business and service continuity amid the COVID-19 pandemic, providing a new range of innovative services, she added.
She said that current trends in digital transformation require a comprehensive review of the work of government, the legislative and legal system, and related infrastructure.
She explained that the UAE had announced the “50 Principles” and “50 Projects” as part of their continued efforts to promote future preparedness. The 10 principles constitute a roadmap for the future and focus on building the best and most dynamic economy in the world, investing in human capital, developing the education system, recruiting talent and the continuous strengthening of skills, as well as the promotion of digital technology and science. excellence of the United Arab Emirates.
Top Rankings on Future Readiness Indicators The report praised the UAE’s performance on Future Readiness Indicators, where it ranked third among 27 emerging economies representing the best performance on the overall index.
The index measures four main pillars, namely institutions and infrastructure, technology, talent and innovation. The main pillars include 15 sub-pillars that monitor the ability of governments to prepare for the future, embrace digital transformation, invest in human capital, attract talent and invest in research and development, between others.
The United Arab Emirates secured leading positions on the main pillars of the index and ranked among the best performing economies in all pillars and sub-pillars.
It ranked third globally for the pillar of supervisory skills and the use of modern technology, fourth globally for attracting talent, and sixth globally for talent growth.
It also ranked among the top 30 countries in the world in 10 sub-pillars focused on readiness, agility, technology, digital transformation and investment in human capital.
Compared to the 27 emerging economies in the index, the UAE has achieved leadership positions in the four main pillars, ranking second in the “Institutions & Infrastructure” and “Talent” pillars, third in “Technology” and fourth in “Innovation”, making it ahead of China, Russia and India.
