- PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
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HRH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashin al Maktoum and the rest of Dubai's ruling Maktoum family have turned Dubai into an oasis in the desert.
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In an age of global economic integration, the urban growth policies of Dubai - both local and national - are designed to attract foreign investment and build a global reputation. Dubai's prominence on the world scene could only have arisen because the royal family was willing to invest in the growth of Dubai's worldwide reputation.
Dubai is the second-largest of the seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates (behind Abu Dhabi). Yet although Dubai is part of a larger country, the city's local government predominantly is in control of the municipal affairs. The ruling family of Dubai, the Maktoums, have lived there since migrating with the Al Bu Falasah clansmen from Abu Dhabi in 1833. Their policies indicate that they are interested in attracting foreign investment to the city, and with the rise of contemporary globalization, Dubai has become a "world city" because of them.
In 1901 Sheikh Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum made the coastal city of Dubai a free port and abolished all tariffs in hopes of having merchants from the Iranian city of Lingah relocate to Dubai. Since that time, and especially with the rise of modern globalization, the free policies of Dubai have increased. There is now an international airport in Dubai as well as the Jebel Ali Free Zone.
To attract foreign investment, government incentives in the Jebel Ali Free Zone include: no personal income taxes within the Free Zone, no corporate taxes for 15 years, no currency restrictions, no requirement for foreign companies to have local partners and abundant water and power supplied by the Jebel Ali Power Station. McDonalds' regional headquarters and Disney's marketing branch moved to Dubai in the 1990's.
Overall Dubai epitomizes a free-market society. No one person or government controls the economy, and with such transparency there is little corruption in the city. However, an important form of non-governmental intervention in Dubai dealt with women's empowerment. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund held the Emirates Businesswomen's Council and Council of World Women Leaders in Dubai in September 2003. In Arab society, which has been traditionally male-oriented, Dubai has recognized the significance of promoting women's rights. "None of the millennium development goals can be achieved without the social and economic empowerment of women," Kim Campbell, former Prime Minister of Canada, said at the conference at the Shangri-La hotel. Dubai recognizes that it must guarantee the rights of women in order for the city to truly succeed.