07 Apr 2026
“Brother, this is Dubai, why would we cancel?” That answer captures Dubai.
By Augie K Fabela II*
Chairman & Founder, VEON Ltd.
Most discussions about resilience focus on recovery—how quickly a system can return to normal after a shock. What I observed in Dubai over the past several weeks suggests a different model: one built not just to recover, but to continue operating with minimal interruption, even under sustained pressure.
Since the onset of the Gulf Conflict, according to official data, hundreds of missiles and drones were launched toward the UAE. Despite that, Dubai’s airspace was disrupted minimally, with flights in and out of the country still operating reliably. On the ground, meetings continue as scheduled, businesses remain open, and daily life moves forward with a level of consistency that is difficult to achieve even in stable conditions.
On February 28, 2026, the first day of the attacks, I was invited to the Meydan Racecourse for the Emirates Super Saturday horse race. I asked, “Are they cancelling?” The CEO of the Dubai Race Club replied, “Brother, this is Dubai, why would we cancel?” That answer captures Dubai.
That afternoon, I stood at Meydan watching the races with thousands of people. And there, in the paddock among the people, was Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum -visible, present and engaged - on the first day of the attacks.
Just days later, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was walking among people at Dubai Mall, speaking directly with them again, visible, present and engaged. Two leaders. Two moments. One consistent message: confidence. This has been the tone we have seen repeatedly from all leaders of Dubai and of the UAE in their interactions with people and with businesses.
This is not resilience in the conventional sense. It is closer to what I would describe as tenacity: a system designed in advance to maintain continuity, rather than react to disruption after the fact.
That tenacity is the result of deliberate choices made over decades. Dubai’s economic structure is diversified across multiple sectors - trade, logistics, aviation, financial services, tourism, and digital platforms - creating a set of interconnected engines that balance each other in times of stress. Its role as a global hub for the movement of goods, people, and capital reinforces this stability, because continuity here is not only a domestic priority but an international necessity.
Equally important is the way decisions are made and executed. In many environments, crisis introduces friction into leadership processes. In Dubai, the opposite tends to occur: decision-making accelerates, communication becomes clearer, and execution is both visible and coordinated. This is not simply a function of strategy, but of institutional alignment and sustained investment in systems that are designed to perform under pressure.
What stand out just as much is the relationship between government and the private sector. Shortly after the attacks began, the Crown Prince Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum convened a Dubai Majlis at Meydan bringing together hundreds of business leaders with the government leaders, focusing on a straightforward question: what do you need, and how can we support you? That approach of listening, adapting, and acting is embedded in how the system operates and it plays a critical role in maintaining confidence and continuity.
There is also a broader human dimension that is often overlooked. A consistent focus on safety, service, and inclusion that creates an environment where people feel both protected and invested. You truly feel like a member of this land - an “Emirati” in the broader sense of the word – and that you are taken care of. That sense of belonging translates into stability, and stability, in turn, underpins economic performance.
All of these factors combined gives us the comfort that the businesses like ours look for. In today’s world, especially if you are a business that aspires to empower growth like we do, you cannot plan for comfort and a total freedom from ambiguity – you plan and look for leadership that helps navigate uncertainty with vision, calmness, and presence. The ability to operate consistently under pressure and to maintain momentum when conditions are least favorable becomes a defining factor.
Dubai offers a compelling example of how that is being achieved, through a combination of sound leadership, structure, execution, and alignment that has been built and refined over time.
In that sense, what we are seeing is not just resilience, but a more advanced model of it—one that is proactive, scalable, and decisive. I call it tenacity and it is what describes Dubai, UAE which we, at VEON, proudly call home.
*Fabela is the Chairman and Founder of VEON Group, the largest U.S. Nasdaq-listed company headquartered in the UAE. VEON Group companies serve 5 markets – Pakistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan – that are collectively home to 530 million people with connectivity and digital services in finance, entertainment, education, healthcare, ride-hailing and more.