Dubai still rocks!

Hussein Shobokshi Why does Dubai still “works” and continuous to impress? That is a very legitimate question and needs to be answered in order to learn from its important experience. The answers will not only benefit its immediate neighbors from the Gulf States, but it will also benefit countries in Europe, Asia, Africa as well as Latin America. Dubai works because it makes sure that everyone who is there, be it a citizen, a resident or a visitor, has a sense of ownership. In the sense, that there is a strong feeling and sentiment that the rule of law will prevail. That in itself creates a new paradigm for many which leads to establishing a very positive image and impression of the place, and then leading to very important decisions such as visiting, working, residing and investing. Dubai has raised the bar and set new standards for others to follow. It no longer competes for the regional pie against Cairo, Amman, Beirut, Manama or Doha. It has clearly positioned itself to be in competition against Singapore and Hong Kong while not discounting that eventually it wants to be competent against tier ‘A’ cities such as London, Paris and New York. Dubai works for the exact reasons where other cities fail; lack of vision and inefficiency. A lot has been written and said about what Dubai did and plans to do in terms of the “hardware”, such as airports, railways, seaports, airlines and infrastructure in general but not enough has been said and given credit to is the “software” part, i.e. the vision, the goals, the mission and the objectives. This is also an important part of the success story that seldom is talked about or mentioned. Dubai works because it is different and it is different because it is a function of both hardware and software. Crediting for itself is a unique operation system which is so far bug free!