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LONDON: Gulf countries have made significant improvements in the 2023 Brand Finance Global Soft Power Index, with Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia leading the rest of the Arab region.

Arab countries continue to emerge as major players in this particular study, produced annually by Brand Finance.

Soft power experts, researchers and government delegates met at the Queen Elizabeth II Center in London on Thursday to discuss the index, billed as the world’s most comprehensive study of countries’ perceptions of brands.

The UAE jumped five places to enter the top 10 for the first time since the index began in 2020. Brand Finances Chairman and CEO David Haigh described this as a great performance.

Saudi Arabia was confirmed as the second Arab country ranked 19, up five positions compared to last year.

Favored by a changing energy landscape, the Kingdom scored 51.3 out of 100 index points, a 4.1 point increase over previous years’ score.

I was not surprised to see the UAE in the top 10, and I was not surprised to see Saudi Arabia enter the top 20, said Lord Ed Vaizey, a former UK culture minister. The soft power of the Gulf countries really makes up the difference.

Qatar also rose in the rankings, thanks in large part to hosting the football World Cup.

The US held the top spot and further increased its lead over other countries, with an overall score of 74.8, a 4.1-point increase over last year. It was followed by the UK and Germany.

According to Andrew Campbell, managing director of Brand Finance Middle East, the new rankings show that Saudi Arabia has all the qualities to become a soft power player in the Middle East and globally.

The UAE is showing the way, showing what it can do. And we saw Saudi Arabia climb strongly, into the top 20 for the first time in our global rankings, Campbell told Arab News.

With its very strong diplomatic roots, strong international ties, respected leaders and an economy that is strong and stable, Saudi Arabia is now emerging, emerging as a significant soft power.

The Kingdom, which has made soft power a priority in its Vision 2030, advanced to ninth in the index that influences the ranking on the back of a strong economic position and promotion of its cultural heritage.

Being home to a quarter of the world’s known oil reserves and having the world’s largest oil production output, this year’s report shows the important role countries play in providing energy security for others other parts of the world, where the country climbed 7 places to 14th in the strong and stable economy index.

However, Haigh said in his speech that the Kingdom has proven its ability to look beyond oil, and praised its continued efforts to diversify the economy. Its growing appeal as a tourist destination has seen the Kingdoms rank 11th in the rich heritage category.

Saudi Arabia also performed well in other categories including investment in green energy and technologies, where it was ranked 25th.

It is ranked 27th in sustainable cities and transportation, further demonstrating its commitment to a transition to a more sustainable economy.

The UAE performed well in several categories, particularly in reputation and influence as it enjoyed a successful EXPO 2020 and prepared to host the COP 28 climate summit.

The UAE was one of the first economies to launch mass vaccination and reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling it ahead of others and allowing it to maintain positive business and trade outlooks, with particular improvement in the future growth potential characteristic, where it is in third place in the world, said Haigh.

UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi said his country is doing a good job in establishing soft power because it embraces diversity and strives to be open and welcoming.

In his speech in London, Al-Zeyoudi defended the UAE’s decision to appoint Sultan Al-Jaber, CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, as president of COP28, pointing out the importance of having the private sector at the table where things happen this conversation. because that’s where the money, the talent and the solutions are.

He said the UAE was committed to changing its global image, and that his country had reduced its direct dependence on oil and gas to a historic low of 30 percent of its GDP. It has made significant investments in other industries, he added.

Campbell said the Gulf countries, especially the UAE and Saudi Arabia, are undergoing a major economic transformation as reflected by the index results.

He said that both are successful stories of soft power because their leaders created a vision, decided where they wanted to go, and followed a very clear path in developing their economies, their international relations , their tourism infrastructure, their education and health and so on. They form all the pillars that influence soft power.

Brand Finance said the index scores are based on a variety of metrics, which together provide a balanced and holistic assessment of countries’ presence, reputation, and impact on the world stage.

These include: Familiarity, influence, reputation and performance, the latter of which is based on eight pillars business and trade, governance, international relations, culture and heritage, media and communication, education and science, people and values ​​and also also the sustainable future.

Soft power is a term coined in 1990 by Joseph Nye, a political scientist and former US assistant secretary of defense, to describe the ability of countries to obtain desired outcomes through persuasion, rather than through coercion or payment.

It can be used to appeal to countries rather than coerce them, in contrast to the traditional hard power approach that relies on military and economic means.

In his opening remarks, Haigh said that while the world has been dominated by hard power over the past 12 months, soft power is actually providing a way out and will ultimately lead to greater peace and prosperity.

The summit this year was largely dominated by the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

At an event packed with international speakers and world leaders, including Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Boris Johnson gave his first speech in Europe since being ousted as prime minister by his own party .

Johnson praised Ukraine’s ability to use soft power to gain international support.

Besides the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, 10 other Arab countries are included in this years Global Soft Power Index.

Kuwait, Egypt and Oman ranked third, fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, followed by Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Iraq in seventh to 13th.

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