By Matthew Amlôt

DUBAI -- The UAE’s economy has a “greater ability” to begin growing again, compared to other countries following the coronavirus pandemic, an expert said.

The coronavirus, known as COVID-19, is predicted to cause the biggest global recession in nearly a century, with countries across the world moving to shield their economies from the worst effects of the downturn. The UAE has implemented several measures to support businesses, including a variety giant economic stimulus packages.

“The UAE has greater capabilities compared to other countries, in having a greater ability to get out of this crisis easily because of investing in sectors other than oil, and setting fiscal policies to deal with the global challenges,” Dr. Ricardo Hausmann, founder and Director of Harvard's Growth Lab, said on Tuesday, state news agency WAM reported.

Hausmann was speaking at an interactive session of the second day of the UAE Remote Meeting: Preparations for the post-coronavirus, COVID-19, period.

He went on to explain that the UAE’s open economy with companies present from around the world reinforces the development of the country’s other sectors, such as travel and tourism. Due to the diverse nature of the UAE economy, economic policies are needed to support the private sector in overcoming the coronavirus challenge, Hausmann added.

“One of the best policies to adopt looking at UAE’s economic model is the reduction of public expenditure policy so that the country works on reducing its spending equaling it to long-term revenues and thus enable the public and private sectors to reduce deficiencies,” he said.

The global economy will likely not recover unless 80 percent of the world develops immunity to the coronavirus, Hausmann continued.

Reaching such a high figure will require global cooperation in producing and distributing a COVID-19 vaccine, he concluded. -- Al Arabiya English