Dr. B. Rajesh Kumar is Associate Professor at the Institute of Management Technology FZ-LLC in Dubai, UAE. He earned a PhD in Management from the Indian Institute of Technology , IIT Kharagpur. He has published over 25 empirical research papers in refereed international journals. He is the author of three books, including, most recently, Mega Mergers and Acquisitions: Case Studies from Key Industries (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012). His co-authored research works have been cited in the popular financial press, such as The Financial Times, Money Week and the The Economist.
The UAE’s Strategic Trade Partnership with Asia: A Focus on Dubai
Over the past several decades, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been transformed into one of the world’s most robust economies. The key to the UAE’s success has been economic diversification; indeed, oil now accounts for only one-third of the country’s GDP. According to UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade Reports, the value of non-oil exports increased thirtyfold during the period 1981-2009. Dubai accounted for approximately 82 percent of non-oil exports in the UAE in 2010, while Abu Dhabi accounted for 14 percent. In particular, by setting up over two dozen free zones as platforms for nearly all industry sectors, the UAE has become far less dependent on oil.
