“The UAE is positioned 22^nd globally in talent attraction and retention now, and our plan is to be one among the top 10 countries in seven years’ time,” announced H.E. Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade and Minister in charge of Talent Attraction and Retention in the UAE federal government at a session titled “Global competitiveness for Talents: The key to success in the 21^st century” on the opening day of the International Government Communication Forum (IGCF 2024).

The 13th edition of IGCF, themed ‘Agile Governments.. Innovative Communication’, is being held on September 4-5, 2024, at Expo Centre Sharjah.

The session was hosted in partnership with Forbes Middle East and moderated by its Editor-in-Chief Khuloud Al Omian. The session also hosted H.E. Simon Robert Cofe, Minister of Transport, Energy, Communications and Innovation of the Pacific Island of Tuvalu; and Rachid Yazami, a Singapore-based Moroccan engineer and scientist known for his pioneering work on batteries. The guests agreed that talent attraction and retention was key to the development of a country’s economy, and acknowledged the progress made by Western countries or Asian powerhouses like Singapore.

Al Zeyoudi expressed confidence in the UAE’s capabilities to achieve its dream thanks to its dedicated efforts in the past three years to set up specialist committees for talent attraction, the changes in its visa and immigration system, the hindrances visa seekers face in the US and Europe, and the stability, security and safety that the Arab nation provides to its resident population.

Pointing out how countries like Australia, Denmark and Finland attracted students interested in specialty subjects, the Minister noted that the UAE is “using education as a tool to attract talent at an early age”. However, “communicating with an Internet-oriented Generation Z, convincing them to work with you or sustaining their interest for long is the challenge”, he added.

Yazami, who moved from California to Singapore 14 years ago to work in Nanyang Technological University and does not regret his decision, felt there should be a government policy to attract talent internationally. He praised the UAE for its stability and hoped there would be a Nobel Prize coming from the Emirates soon. “Education is vital in shaping minds and learning values is equally important for young people though many of them now feel that they can make money easily through the Internet.

This is a dangerous trend as without the curiosity to learn or opening the minds to the world and to history, arts, music, there cannot be a sense of belonging to humanity,” he added. Referring to the success stories of Scandinavian countries and Asian countries like Japan and South Korea, Yazami vouched there is a strong correlation between education and economy.

Tuvalu minister Simon Cobu pointed out that his country has a lot to offer despite being the world’s fourth smallest island with a population of 10,000 people that is in danger of being fully submerged in 200 years. As the first digital nation in the world, Tuvalu will continue to exist digitally long after climate change claims it and the values that underpin their lives will live on, he noted. The world has become a single interconnected entity, which makes it possible to invite talent to set up Tuvalu as their work station.

“We recognise our limitations but we are innovative. We are not competing on the level of economy; we promote our values instead.” He promoted the idea of “digital nomad – living on one side of the world and serving the other side – since everyone wants to live in peace” and Tuvalu can offer that.

The panellists agreed that every country needs to stand for its values, which in itself will be a huge draw in attracting talent.