Government & Public Services

The Middle East is both the most urbanised and one of the fastest urbanising regions in the world. Two-thirds of Middle Eastern populations live in cities – well above the global average of 50%. This places a strategic importance on cities and local government as a priority sector.

New and re-emerging cities

• One of the most exciting trends in the region, cities are being recreated and developed to directly meet and cater to national aspirations and citizen needs. Future looking by design, these cities are redefining traditional development models and trajectories.                                                                          

Nature-based solutions and a powerful ESG agenda

• Due to their density, cities are at the center of the ESG agenda. In the Middle East, the significant consequences posed by current environmental conditions positions ESG at the forefront of policy makers’ agendas. As a result, innovative, nature-based solutions are becoming synonymous with cities & local governments.                                                                                       

Smart, smart… everything 

• The pandemic pushed local government to the forefront of public service. The emphasis on equity, accessibility and agility has amplified the speed of digitisation and integration of services across local government. In many cases, this requires an upheaval of the ecosystem (both physical infrastructure and human capital), but also ensuring readiness for the future.

The stakes are high for governments worldwide. Government readiness, and its resilience and agility has direct bearing on public confidence and trust, socio-economic development, and quality of life for citizens. 

Re-imagining safety and security

• The pandemic has shed light on the importance of proactive engagement and prevention in the area of safety and security. This has pushed for an evolution from law enforcement and execution to root-cause analysis and community engagement. 

Collaborative Operational Models

• In tandem with the changes taking place across all other sectors of government, the safety and security sector is adapting its operating model to engage communities, build partnerships with the business community, and capitalize on the outreach, networks and knowledge of non-governmental organizations. 

A multi-disciplinary, digitally savvy cadre of professionals

• Professionalising the safety and security sector is a key priority for Middle Eastern governments. In addition to skilling and standardising the sector, there is a growing trend to further diversifying the backgrounds and qualifications of safety and security personnel.

Political tensions and geopolitical instability has pushed  investment and increased defense spending across the Middle East. With global spending on defense on the rise, the key trends in the Middle East are characteristic of governments worldwide.

Localization in the new frontiers of Defense

• Cyber-defense is a growing priority – extending beyond earth to space! Rising economic costs, the significant impact of supply chain disruptions to entire nations, as well as the threat posed by ransom-ware to national security will continue to prioritize cyber-defense for Middle East markets further emphasizing the importance of the localization agenda for military industries.                                                 

Multi-domain framework for defense and horizon scanning

• One of the key outcomes of the pandemic was that it highlighted the role that defense can play in supporting civil power. This trend will likely continue, with defense policies and teams responding more aptly to international events and forming horizon scanning functions.                                                  

Spending efficiency and commercialization

• The Defence sector continues to dominate fiscal spending resulting in continued emphasis on spend optimization, rationalization and prioritization across all branches of the armed forces. Most recently, there has been a push towards bundling and commercializing non-core military assets as a revenue generating mechanism 

After the hit the Middle East tourism sector took during the pandemic – resulting in the loss of over 1.2 million tourism related jobs, the tourism sector is rebounding – with a strong and clear vision of the way ahead

Innovative partnerships for pragmatic goals

• Tourism policy makers continuously balance a multitude of priorities, ranging from sustainability goals, global and regional stability, as well as economic capability; against their tourism vision and goals.  Middle East governments are designing innovative policies and collaborative

New, niche destinations & experiences

• As governments capture the need to “reboot” after the complete decline of travel, there is a growing market for new, niche destinations and experiences. This ranges from self-discovery, adventure tourism – through to exclusive luxury travel destinations and experiences. 

Digitally enhanced experiences 

• Capitalizing on one of the key learnings from the pandemic, digital technology will continue to be leveraged to ensure a unique customer experience, for safety and wellbeing, and sustainability.

Diverse as the Middle East is, there a number of pressing issues that drive the policy agendas of governments, international development organisations and community groups alike

A young Middle East: Asset or Liability? 

• With one of the largest youth populations in the world, the Middle East, is also the world’s largest unemployment hotspot. Productively driving the energy, and creating 33 million new jobs, and supporting social inclusion, is key to sustaining livelihoods and importantly, closing off one of the main sources of extreemism/ terrorism. 

‘Hot’bed for Climate Change 

• Healthy ecosystems are the hallmarks of the wellbeing of communities and societies. The Middle East is one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to climate change - a pressing concern given the fragility of the regions water and food systems

In & Out: Displacement & Brain Drain

• Geopolitical unrest and limited social mobility have increased displacement in the Middle East and added pressure on governments. According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, 16.1million or 19% of the 84 million displaced persons in 2021 reside in the Middle East North Africa region. On the other side, survey estimates drawn over the past decade, estimate that brain drain is costing Middle Eastern governments between USD1-5 - 2 million annually