The DHL Global Connectedness Index released a special report on Wednesday 22 December in partnership with the NYU Stern School of Business highlighting strong links between global connectedness and prosperity.
The report examines five countries including the United Arab Emirates, Mexico, The Netherlands, Sierra Leone and Viet Nam, which stood out for their strong and rising connectedness over the last 20 years.
The UAE’s globalisation strategies
“Even as global trade set new records in early 2021, countries with the lowest per capita incomes were still trading less than they did in 2019. The world’s poorest countries are still dangerously disconnected, which means that bolstering the foundations of a connected world, and better integrating less developed countries, could help countries recover faster and build resilience for the future,” DHL Global Forwarding Middle East and Africa’s CEO, Amadou Diallo said, noting that “looking at the Middle East, the UAE’s pre-eminent position as the most globalised nation in the region is an outcome of economic development strategies that aggressively pursued growth via globalisation, strongly supported by the private sector and public.”
Different paths
The report further highlighted that the different paths taken by the examined countries show how countries can improve their connectedness in various ways, by leveraging their local contexts to pursue international opportunities enabling them to reach their goals.
Moreover, the report shows how policymakers can actively impact the connectedness of their countries. “Five key areas for improving a country’s connectedness are peace and security, an attractive domestic business environment, openness to international flows, regional integration, and societal support,” the report explained, highlighting how attractive domestic business environments can boost a country’s global connectedness even more than conventional pro-globalisation policies.
The pandemic’s impact
The report then delved into the impact of the pandemic on globalisation, by analysing international flows of trade, capital, information, and people. While there are different trends across types of flows, the overall DHL Global Connectedness Index just declined very modestly in 2020 and is on track to rise in 2021, nonetheless, the Covid-19 ‘stress test’ also revealed longstanding vulnerabilities that demand attention moving forward.
“Many feared that the global crisis would jeopardise the progress of globalisation. We have been analysing the various international flows worldwide for years and after 1.5 years of the pandemic, we can now safely assure: the pandemic has not caused globalisation to collapse. After initial dips in 2020, the DHL Global Connectedness Index is already on the rise again this year,” DHL Express’ CEO, John Pearson said, adding that “Trade has provided a lifeline for countries around the world, and DHL Express has played a key role in areas ranging from vaccine distribution to e-commerce.”
