Profile

Sharjah is the UAE’s third-largest emirate, accounting for just over 3% of the country’s territory, and has long played an important cultural and economic role in the region. Home to six free zones, two amphitheatres, around 30 museums and various annual festivals that attract visitors from around the world, the emirate has a wide offering when it comes to manufacturing, commerce and culture. The discovery of oil in Sharjah resulted in an economic boom, but even at its early stages the emirate’s leadership understood the importance of developing a non-oil economy. In the intervening decades Sharjah has implemented a number of initiatives aimed at developing the economy and encouraging investment inflows.

This chapter contains a viewpoint with Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah and Member of the UAE’s Supreme Council; and interviews with Marwan bin Jassim Al Sarkal, Executive Chairman, Sharjah Investment and Development Authority; and Mohamed Al Musharakh, CEO, Invest in Sharjah.