UAE among top 5 most connected countries globally

DUBAI / WAM

The UAE has emerged as one of the top five most globally connected countries in the world according to the DHL Global Connectedness Index 2020 released on Wednesday. Now in its seventh edition, the report compiled in collaboration with DHL and the NYU Stern School of Business provides a comprehensive assessment of globalisation during the Covid-19 pandemic.
It tracks international flows of trade, capital, information and people across 169 countries and territories, finding that the UAE, along with the Netherlands,
Singapore, Belgium and Ireland, lead the global ranks.
After holding steady in 2019, current forecasts imply that the index will fall significantly in 2020 due to the distancing effects of Covid-19 on societies, such as closed borders, travel bans and grounded passenger airlines. Nonetheless the pandemic is unlikely to send the world’s overall level of connectedness below where it stood during the 2008– 09 global financial crisis.
Trade and capital flows have already started to recover and international data flows surged during the spreading pandemic as in-person contact went into the online world, boosting international internet traffic, phone calls and e-commerce.
“The current crisis has shown how indispensable international connections are for maintaining the global economy, securing people’s livelihoods and helping companies strengthen their trading levels”, says John Pearson, CEO of DHL Express. “Connected supply chains and logistics networks play an essential role in keeping the world running and stabilising globalisation especially at a time of a crisis that spans our globe. This reminds us of the need to stay prepared for any challenge. The recent vaccine breakthrough has put a spotlight on the systemic importance of fast and secure medical logistics dependent on a worldwide interconnected network that effectively ensures international distribution.”
“The UAE has remained resilient to the global pandemic, prompted by the government’s vigilant efforts to contain the spread very early on and minimise the country’s health, safety and economic impact. The UAE’s robust logistics capabilities and transport infrastructure enabled the country to sustain open supply chains and trade links, which ensured that local access to Covid-19 tests and the availability of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for nationals and residents was one of the highest in the world,” said Nour Suliman, CEO of DHL
Express Mena.
While Covid-19 has disrupted business and life around the world, it has not severed the fundamental links that connect nations. “This report shows that globalisation did not collapse in 2020, but that the pandemic did transform — at least temporarily — how countries connect. It also demonstrates both the dangers of a world where critical linkages break down and the urgent need for more effective cooperation in the face of global challenges,” comments GCI lead author Steven A Altman, Senior Research Scholar and Director of the DHL Initiative on Globalisation at the NYU Stern School of Business. “Stronger global connectedness could accelerate the world’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, as countries that connect more to international flows tend to enjoy faster economic growth.”