I am pleased to see that Dubai’s non-oil private sector expanded at the fastest pace in a year with employment growth spiking to a 20-month high in July and businesses recording growth in new orders, according to a recently released new survey. The IHS Markit Dubai Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which covers sectors such as travel and tourism, wholesale and retail and construction, rose from 51.0 in June to 53.2 in July. The upturn was the second-quickest since November 2019, which is a great achievement given the global challenges posed by Covid-19.