>>1706751this is not goalposts moving
small countries with independent currencies (like the UAE) derive all their wealth from their export products, the more high value exports they have the richer everyone in the country becomes even those that have absolutely nothing to do with to those specific exports
if the UAE stops exporting oil the value of the Dirham will tank, meaning all those high value office and tourist jobs will become low value office and tourist jobs
see for instance Venezuela, where every single sector of the economy collapsed to the ground when the petroleum stopped keeping the economy afloat, even those industries and regions of the country that had no oil and no direct involvement with oil
the UAE is better diversified than Venezuela so the collapse wouldn't be as dramatic but the same principle applies
of course the dirham isn't fully independent as it's pegged to the US dollar precisely to try and stabilize the economy against swings in oil prices but such a peg only works for as long as the UAE government can buy US dollars to maintain that peg, and they can only do so for as long as they have the exports to sell for those dollars and of course those exports are largely oil based
