Publication Details

The national visions adopted by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Oman represent some of the most comprehensive strategic planning exercises undertaken by any group of states in the contemporary era. While their primary impetus was the need to reduce dependence on hydrocarbon revenues, these visions have gradually come to embrace a broader conception of what constitutes a knowledge-based, technologically advanced economy. This Insight examines how and to what degree each of the four major Gulf national visions addresses space-related themes - focusing specifically UAE’s space programme, which made significant space achievements even before its current national vision was formulated - drawing directly from the vision documents themselves. It argues that while there are significant differences in the depth and specificity of these documents, a clear regional pattern emerges: space is increasingly understood not as a luxury or a prestige project, but as an integral component of economic diversification, technological sovereignty, and long-term national competitiveness.