The Great Economic Reset Programme launched by Dubai Economy and MBRSG

Dubai’s Department of Economic Development (Dubai Economy) has unveiled “The Great Economic Reset Programme” in association with the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG) to reshape the emirate’s economy and reset it towards a more agile, sustainable, resilient, and inclusive post-pandemic future.

The program which will include robust analyses of current and future policies, rigorous research and extensive stakeholder consultation will set the direction and tone of future economic policies, regulations and initiatives.

The initiative which is part of a “CovExit”, COVID Exit, initiative for promoting collaborative action to navigate recovery and reshape the next normal economy, will harness the collective knowledge of local and international experts for economies and societies to adapt growth strategies to the next normal.

The program is in line with the government’s progressive planning of thinking beyond the coronavirus and moving to the next normal and preserving the gains made by the UAE, refuel its economy and ensure its prosperity.

As a first step, global experts and thought leaders are expected to be brought together in a “Virtual Policy Council,” an engagement platform run by MBRSG, to discuss the enduring impacts of COVID-19 on different facets of the economy and potential policy responses and initiatives. The first roundtable was an invitation-only forum.

Chief economists, senior practitioners and researchers from leading global institutions including the World Bank, the United Nations International Labour Organization, the Development Bank of Latin America, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Harvard Kennedy School, Brookings Institution, Cornell University, the Economist Intelligence Unit, European Schoolnet, The Edtech Hub, and Nasser Saidi & Associates joined experts from Dubai Economy and the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government at the first roundtable.

“I believe the triple helix collaboration between public, private and academia stakeholders have always produced the best solutions in the past. In the highly uncertain environment now, extensive collaboration and cooperation between all stakeholders are vital to our future prosperity. The Virtual Policy Council will propose the best approaches Dubai and the UAE can adopt to address the risks and opportunities in the next normal economy.”

“This Virtual Policy Council is a key component of the whole process where global experts and thinkers share their views on the future economy. In this new era, the role of governments in enabling the new economic actors is becoming increasingly central, and Dubai is well-positioned to lead the way with innovative models of growth post COVID19,” said Professor Raed Awamleh, Dean, Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government.

The globalization debate analyzed the impact of the pandemic on international trade, protectionist sentiment, global value chains, foreign direct investment (FDI, and tourism, and the rise of digital globalization.

Education experts discussed the shift to distance learning, opportunities for a fundamental transformation in how young people learn, the evolving role of educators, and the need for changes in what young people are taught to prepare for future work and citizenship.