UAE a winner of Arab youths’ heart

A UAE paper has said that it is a matter of great pride for the country that for the fifth year in succession the UAE has been ranked first as a location to live and work as per a survey of youth in 16 Arab countries.

In an editorial on Thursday, The Gulf Today said, "It’s not just that. The UAE has also been ranked by Arab youth as their preferred regional startup location. Of the young Arabs who intend to start their own business in the next five years, a quarter would choose to set up shop in the UAE if they could. The youth are the future of any society and their views matter most.

The paper continued, "It should be noted that international polling firm Penn Schoen Berland conducted 3,500 face-to-face interviews with exclusively Arab national men and women aged 18-24 in the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, as well as Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Yemen.

"What is heartening is that the youth understand the right path and have overwhelmingly rejected dreaded organisations like Daesh.

"While three in four Arab youth are concerned about the rise of Daesh, just one in six believes the terrorist group ultimately will succeed. In fact, 50 percent of youths cite Daesh as the biggest obstacle in the region, up from 37 percent last year.

"The feeling among a quarter of young people is that a lack of jobs and opportunities are the main recruitment drivers for the terrorist group. This is an indication that job generation should be among the top priorities for policy makers across the region.

"Another interesting observation from the survey is that five years after the Arab Spring, most young Arabs are prioritising stability over democracy. This year, just 36 percent of young Arabs think that the Arab world is better off following the uprisings, down from 72 percent in 2012 at the height of unrest.

"The reason for UAE’s popularity is obvious. The country has been on a progress path on all fronts even while many countries in the region face turmoil.

The paper quoted Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, as saying, "Countries can only be built with happy and satisfied people. Happiness of individuals is only the start for a stable, productive and safe society."

"The UAE is surely a beacon of hope for the region’s youth and for right reasons," concluded the Sharjah-based daily.

Source:WAM