The US news agency Bloomberg said that Dubai’s future lies in the “hands of two very different princes”, the two sons of its ruler, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, noting that the first “is at the top of the media and the other he’s a man of numbers. “
In a detailed report, the agency reviewed the personality profiles of the two princes, who are not yet 40 years old, the “responsibilities” they have and the extent of their current influence on the city, amid intense regional “pressures”. and “competition.”
The report states that Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, 39, Crown Prince of Dubai, and his brother Sheikh Maktoum, 38, “were tasked with maintaining the city’s position as a business center in the Middle Orient”.
And Sheikh Hamdan, nicknamed “Fazza”, a word that means rush to help others, was appointed crown prince in 2008, bypassing his older brother Sheikh Rashid, who died in 2015 at the age of 33.
Since their father, the 73-year-old ruler of Dubai, “gives them more responsibility, they have created a place for them” in the city.
“Think of it as a company,” said Nasser al-Sheikh, the former chief executive of the Dubai Department of Finance, who helped guide the emirate through the 2009 debt crisis. “Hamdan is the president and Maktum is CEO Hamdan is the face of Dubai and the crown prince, but decisions in all cases are made after consultation between the two brothers.
The two principles tackle “the task of protecting Dubai’s position as a hub of pre-eminent business in the Middle East amid competition from regional rivals and international control in the wake of Russia’s war against Ukraine.”
The two brothers must maintain a “delicate balance of power within the Emirates”. This comes after the Dubai leadership persuaded Abu Dhabi to refocus on business and the economy and, to a lesser extent, on foreign policy, which has led to military clashes in conflicts extending from Yemen to Libya and Turkey.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is posing another challenge, wanting to emulate Dubai as a magnet for foreign talent and investment.
Sheikh Hamdan .. “Dubai Front”
The report presents the personality traits of Sheikh Hamdan and states that his social media accounts are full of official photos, but he also has photos while he skydives, climbs mountains, rides, or sits atop the world’s tallest tower.
He has 14.6 million followers on Instagram, more than the UAE population, and mingles with people in Dubai’s malls and restaurants, which is a continuation of his father’s friendly image as a leader.
Hamdan accompanies his father in most meetings with other rulers in the Emirati sheikhs and heads the Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai, which includes his brother.
The council’s website says Hamdan is “a young and dynamic personality” who has helped him build relationships with Dubai residents.
He is also the president of the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund.
The charismatic crown prince is chief marketing officer in a city built on glamor and its ability to attract capital and millions of tourists. Sheikh Hamdan has proven to be pivotal for Dubai as a financial market this year, as he manages the decisions of all institutions in the state emirate. “
Maktoum .. “The man of numbers”
His brother Maktoum appears “as a man who may be less visible in the city’s social scene, but whose influence is praised by foreign investors and keeps the executives of government-run companies alert.”
The prince rose to prominence when he was appointed finance minister in September 2021 following the death of his uncle.
He attracted the attention of investors for his role in selling shares to companies owned by the emirate, after they had asked for years to list those companies to revive the Dubai stock market.
He has a firm role in auditing the financial resources of state-controlled companies in Dubai, some of which were part of the Dubai financial crisis in 2008.
Since taking over the presidency of the Financial Control Authority, the young prince has ordered financial investigations into several government companies suspected of possible corruption, according to experts on the subject, who also said he “makes official meetings short, serious and for the point. “
A banker told the agency that Sheikh Maktoum, Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Sovereign of Dubai, sometimes requests updates on specific projects late at night or on weekends.
Financial analyst Tariq Fadlallah said: “There has been a positive change in the UAE stock exchanges since Sheikh Maktoum took power. He belongs to a generation that feels comfortable with rapid changes.”
Sheikh Maktoum aims to ensure that the crisis of 2009, when the city requested a $ 20 billion bailout from Abu Dhabi, does not happen again.
At the time, when he was in his early twenties, and Dubai was on the verge of default, he summoned Nasser Al Sheikh, the city’s chief financial officer at the time, to review the financial situation. “He asked me to sit down with him and go through the numbers,” the sheikh told Bloomberg. “He wanted to know exactly where the stress points were and what caused them.”
Dubai is now facing new obstacles, according to the report. The UAE is facing allegations of “failures” in addressing the issue of illicit money flows, but since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, international scrutiny has increased over how Dubai manages illicit financing.
Bloomberg notes that with Saudi Arabia attracting foreign talent who may have ended up in Dubai, the UAE has responded quickly to make the country more attractive to foreign companies and encourage expatriates.
“Sheikh Maktoum is currently playing the role he has been assigned, and it is a specific and technical role,” said Najla Al Qasimi, a researcher at the Dubai Center for Public Policy Research, who was also an ambassador for the United Arab Emirates. .
“Sheikh Hamdan’s role as crown prince is more political,” he says. “He is very popular with the locals and the tribes and is also able to connect and attract the large expat community in Dubai.”
The report states that Dubai’s future “depends on the dynamic between the two brothers, with Sheikh Hamdan eventually succeeding his father as the face of the city, while Sheikh Maktoum consolidates his role as a man of numbers.”
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