Arab media keep supporting UAE after crisis

Dubai Debt Crisis

After the crisis surrounding Dubai's debt woes the UAE has suffered some seriously negative media coverage acround the world.

Economic experts and analysts from all corners of the globe have criticised Dubai's economic model and many have expressed a distinct lack of surprise that the emirate's rocketing economy has come crashing to the ground.

But it's been a different story within the Arab media.

Media coverage in the Arab world has remained largely positive as it continues to back the strength of the UAE economy and its resistance to the consequences of the global economic crisis.

But it isn't just in the pages of a newspaper or the contents of a news bulletin.

UAE is a "dream coming true"

According to the newswire WAM, Tunisia's 'Al-Shurooq' daily newspaper said that despite the global financial meltdown, the UAE is "braving the fallouts" and is continuing to implement its developmental projects spread across the seven emirates, especially in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, as reported by ArabianBusiness.com.

The paper was alluding to the comments made by Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, after he called what is now happening in UAE as something resembling a "dream coming true".

Al-Shurooq praised the UAE for its ambition in the face of the recession and for "setting its eyes on a vision of optimism" even after the recent announcement from Dubai World that they will need to delay repaying its US$60 billion for a minimum of six months.

Elsewhere, an important Jordanian newspaper, 'Al-Dastour', criticised the media hype on Dubai describing it as superficial and tendentious, according to WAM.

Need for high degree of efficiency and objectivity

The article also said that what has been appearing in the Arab media during the last few days on the so-called debt crisis in Dubai, also showed the need for financial analysts and economists with a high degree of efficiency and objectivity to provide explanations and logical analysis to the Arab reader.

The newspaper said: "Most of what I had read was kind of ridiculing or arbitrary attempts to associate the crisis in Dubai with the policy of economic openness in Jordan through some articles published in the cyberspace.

"These articles deserve to be archived in museums under the slug: rare things in history."

"Dubai will shine even brighter"

One thing Dubai does have on its side is the nature of its administrative system, which is so much faster and easier compared to many of its counterparts and this should make recovery slightly easier.

The global economy needs Dubai and even though its oil-rich neighbour Abu Dhabi have vowed to be very "selective" in what is chooses to "save" in Dubai, it will not be able to sit back and watch Dubai go under.

But Linda Heard of Saudi's Arab News daily remains optimistic: "Once it gets over this minor financial setback Dubai will shine even brighter. And to those who get paid for wishing it ill at every opportunity there will be only one thing to say: 'Get over it!'".

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