Dubai, the largest and most developed economy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is now on a mission to make it a leading soft power entity by strengthening ties within the GCC and further across the globe. Soft power here means the use of a country’s cultural and economic influence to persuade other countries to do something, rather than the use of military power for coercive means.
Moving forward in this direction, the city has taken a number of measures to establish itself as a “soft superpower” and the regional capital for ideas, culture, art and tourism including hosting of Expo 2020 a World expo, opening on 20th October 2020, spending billions on humanitarian aid and opened the Louvre Abu Dhabi to attract tourists from world wide.
The UAE Soft Power Council was launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai in April last year.
Since its formation in April 2017, the UAE Soft Power Council acts like a “door opener” to the purpose with four major objectives :
* to encourage a unified direction for various sectors including the economy, humanities, media and science along with tourism ;
* to boost the UAE’s position as a entry to the region ;
* to set up the country as a regional capital for culture, art and tourism ;
* to portray the Emirates as a modern and tolerant country that welcomes people from across the globe.
“What significant here is our public and cultural diplomacy,” as said by Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. “This involves the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation and all citizen and resident in the UAE as well, institutions and bodies to spread the nation’s message.”
Vision Expo 2020 :
Hosting a world exhibition – Expo 2020 will be the single largest promotional event for a nation outside its own borders. The occasion will be one of the most remarkable examples of the UAE’s soft power. As said by Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, “this world exhibition of Expo 2020 will provide a vital platform for the UAE to reach out to the foreign public.”
The six-month event is expected to draw more than 20 million people to Dubai to share their ideas, exhibit their innovations and encourage collaboration.
The strongest passport :
As per the Arton Capital’s updated Passport Index UAE’s passport now ranks as the most powerful in the world, which adds to the reason of the UAE being a soft power.
The UAE has topped the rank from fourth place a year earlier, as its citizens are offered a visa-free access to several more countries including Ireland, Canada and China.
Promoting cultural tourism:
With the opening of Louvre Abu Dhabi museum, on November 11 last year, the UAE built up its position as a prime cultural tourism spot in GCC. The museum is a successful endeavor which was made possible with 10-years of France collaboration.
The museum showcases more than 600 artworks from around the world out of which
300 works are on loan from 13 leading French institutions in its 23 permanent galleries. The art works are by world-famous artists such as Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Cy Twombly.
Major stages in human development and the links between cultures and civilisations are the themes depicted through these art works.
