HOUSE OVERSIGHT 024947 Though we realize this fact, the Council of Ministers has lately decided to establish the Emirates Council for Competitiveness. Its task is to develop strategies and suggest policies and legal frameworks that can support the competitive environment in the light of local, regional and international variables. These frameworks serve the objective of comprehensive development, and protect the Emirates position among the most competitive states on the international arena. The Council consists of a number of ministers concerned with this question. It is headed by the Minister for Cabinet Affairs, and includes the Ministers of Economy and Foreign Trade, Education, Labor, Health, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and for Financial Affairs. In addition, there are seven representatives of administrative boards in the local governments, the chairman of the Union of Trade and Industry Chambers in the State, Directors of Trade and Industry Chambers in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. We are confident that the Council is able to draw strategies and legislative frames to secure the desired development of the competitive capacity of the UAE. By Ro'ya Al Iqtesadiah newspaper In the first quarter oft his year, accelerating economic events have generated pessimism about the future of the global economy and its growth. There are conflicting reports in the assessment of the national economy, and we read some of the studies questioning the continuation of Western-style development plans and their future in the region in light of declining oil prices and the global crisis. What is the assessment of Your Highness on the national economy today, can it be maintained at the level of growth in the light of the retreat of oil prices? What is the policy that the UAE will use with regard to the latest developments of the global financial crisis? Our economy is strong and its potential lies in its great diversity. The proportion of oil in the UAE 's GDP i