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The sheikh who runs Dubai has hit out at Western journalists, who he says have launched a "media bombardment" against the city.
Sheikh Mohammed, premier of the UAE as well as ruler of Dubai, made his comments in a mass online Q&A session with local reporters. "Dubai was under a daily attack by some Western media, as if they were in a race against time to harm the UAE."
To be fair, he's not being paranoid - recently it seems they really are out to get him. Take Simon Jenkins in The Guardian: "This off-the-shelf city state, built on laundering the profits of oil, drugs, arms and western aid, stands on the brink."
Or Johann Hari in The Independent: "This is a city built from nothing in just a few wild decades on credit and ecocide, suppression and slavery."
Sheikh Mohammed and his supporters say they don't mind criticism. But they object to stories they see as sneering, one-sided and ill-informed. (Germaine Greer, for example, based her critique on a four-hour, open-top bus ride while waiting for an airline connection.) UK Business Secretary Peter Mandelson has some sympathy for the sheikh: during a recent visit Mandelson said he had "little time or patience for doom-laden" reporting on Dubai.
Like many British expats here, I'm agnostic on the issue. On the one hand, I've lived in the city for a decade, and like the place. On the other, I've covered it for Western media throughout that time, and know it plays an important role. Local media are getting better, but are a long way from being an active fourth estate - foreign journalists with sharper teeth are sometimes needed.
Ultimately, Dubai knows that whingeing won't help. Negative headlines are bad for business if they keep away foreign tourists and investors. The solution: Dubai has hired top London public relations firm Finsbury to help put a more positive spin on its coverage. Lord Mandelson would surely approve.
* Shuaa Capital, the top Dubai-based investment bank, won a reprieve from shareholders after a record $280 million loss in 2008. Local law on capital ratios forced a vote on keeping the bank running or winding it up. They agreed to keep Shuaa going.
* UAE investors are snapping up London homes, after the UAE dirham (pegged to the US dollar) surged against the pound. Dubai estate agent Sherwoods says that for buyers using dirhams, London property is roughly half the price of its 2007 peak.
Reader views (1)
Dubai is a resilient place, and a very livable city. Its leaders -- and those of the UAE --have come up with a timely and innovative policy mix of monetary easing, fiscal stimulus and liquidity injection so that Dubai can meet its debt repayments -- as it has historically -- and also continue its economic development. Like virtually every region of the world, the Gulf has been hit by the global financial crisis. But Dubai has a particularly strong infrastructure, and will have that much more traction than most other places when the global economy recovers. Equally importantly, Dubai's leaders are undertaking extensive systemic reforms that will stand this emirate in good stead. This continues to be a warm and welcoming place, and I personally would urge people to visit. Believe me, Dubai will engender smiles in you, not sneering.
- Pranay Gupte, Dubai, UAE
