Dubai - An International City

Today we made our way downtown to the DIFC, the Dubai International Financial Center. Here, we learned what about Dubai makes it such a great location for an international financial center. For starters, Dubai is located in a time zone in between Europe and Asia, therefore it can easily access both those markets in good timing. Additionally, the DIFC is a financial free zone meaning that it doesn’t follow Emirati law, but it follows English Common law, allowing companies to have a 0% tax rate on profit, a 0% personal income tax, and it allows for foreign ownership. After learning about the dynamic foundation of the DIFC, we learned about the Academy they have. The academy is dedicated to promoting and providing professional development in Finance, Management, and Law. They offer 3 types of higher level degrees and work with many universities and companies to make their curriculum align with the groundbreaking technology that is always ongoing in Fintech, Artificial Intelligence and analytics. 

Once we left the Academy’s office, we ventured around the galleries and shops surrounding the office. We had the opportunity to view modern art, photography and paintings by artists around the area in beautiful galleries. Soon after we hopped back on our bus to head to Old Dubai to finish up some shopping at the traditional Souks (markets) since today was our last day in Dubai. The specific souk was textile souk so it had many beautiful pashmina, cashmere and silk scarves, tapestries, pillows etc. In addition to textiles, the shops also had gorgeous hand painted dishware, exotic spices, dried fruits, traditional clothing and art work. At the souks, we are able to bargain with the shop owners to get the prices down as far as we can to ensure we receive the best price for our product. This bargaining culture in the souks can be fun and entertaining as you go back and forth between prices. Not only do the store owners compete with you to get the price they want, they also compete with other shops to get you inside. Shop owners will say anything they can to try and attract you more to their store and products while others are also saying the same type of things to you.  The souks are a great place to find deals on souvenirs and get a feel for the culture in Dubai. Most of Dubai's population are actually not Emiratis, but expats from other countries that have come here for employment. Many of the shop owners are from nations such as Pakistan and India. This adds to the international culture and openness of Dubai and the UAE as a inclusive and accepting place. Once we finished shopping at the souks, we headed over to the cultural center for a traditional lunch and an interactive discussion about Emirati traditions.