What a day!

Today the College of Business and Economics sponsored an "Abu Dhabi 2030 Vision" conference. It was fascinating on many levels.

First, male students were allowed to cross the impenetrable wall on to the female campus. They sat in one section while the women sat in other sections.

Second, they highlighted the fact that women are important to the long term growth of the Emirate. If you think, "Why is that noteworthy?" think US circa 1900.

Third, they highlighted the fact that they are bringing in huge companies to relocate here but do not have the locals to staff them. One speaker said, "If you are Emirati with skills, drive, and ambition we want to hire you."

Fourth, I love the expansion plan. The best speaker... the best speaker I've heard since I've arrived in this country... was a guy from Mubadala. It's an invest arm of the government where they try to attract business to this country.

In the US we try attract business by offering tax breaks. Here they attract business by buying them - or at least part of them. The Mubadala representative talked about AMD (the chip maker who runs a distant second to Intel), EADS (Airbus, the global competitor to Boeing), and GE (who makes airplane engines) all building factories in the UAE.

Was it because they thought the UAE was a fabulous place to build a factory? No. The Abu Dhabi government invested a lot of money in each of those companies so well, hey, there's a bit an of an obligation.

The speaker said repeatedly, "We used our leverage..." Which is polite business speak for, "We'll give you this money if you build a factory in our country."

I left the conference energized. There's pretty much zero chance I'll be in this country in 2030, but hearing and seeing the plans makes me know I'd want to come back to visit.