Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
If there was one attitude that has been fundamental to the economic success of the city of Dubai then it surely is a deep respect for the value of competition.
It’s a word that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and ruler of Dubai, is very fond of, believing that it drives people to become stronger and to achieve more.
“Compete with yourself and others,” he advises in My Story: 50 Memories from Fifty Years of Service, his long-awaited memoirs published to coincide with five decades at the heart of power in the Middle East. “Compete with your goals to achieve more ambitious ones,” he adds. “Compete with your past to build a better future.”
Dubai is a paragon for what can be achieved by enshrining competition at the heart of policy. In the space of just two generations it has transformed into a global economic powerhouse thanks to a forward-thinking combination of inspired resource exploitation, free trade and vision.
It was this firm conviction that drove the Sheikh to transform Dubai from a small, bustling trading port into a multi-billion dollar city that now welcomes 16