UAE set to start 2013 on a confident note

The UAE faces 2013 with much more confidence than at the start of other years in the recent past. Businesses are showing more confidence and the economy seems to be about to take-off again, as the worst bad debts have either been written off or survived and new large projects all over the UAE are kick-starting their activities, commented a local newspaper. For example, in Dubai, the vast project of Mohammad Bin Rashid City will see the construction of a new business area from Business Bay all the way to the Ranches; the Creek will be extended out to the Jumeirah coastline and Deira is all set for a massive make-over. "This kind of activity has triggered fears of another boom, leading to yet another bust. However, the authorities are well aware of the dangers of speculation and have started to take steps to avoid the excesses of 2000 to 2007," Gulf News noted in its yesterday's editorial. The regional turbulence of 2011's Arab Spring largely passed the UAE by, with the vast majority of the country's nationals supporting the tolerant and growth-oriented policies of the government. "The UAE has played an important part in working for peaceful resolution to the often-violent disturbances that plague the region. The country will also continue to play an important part in combating extremism in Afghanistan as the NATO mission winds down and the Afghan government takes up the task of defeating the Taliban," the paper pointed out.