Think of the Middle East and, for many of us, Iraq or Jerusalem come to mind. But if you are a banker, a fund manager or an engineer, a different image comes to the fore. These professionals think of the Middle East and they visualise tantalising pools of cash in the hands of sovereign wealth funds and towers rising over the Gulf. They have forgotten the Middle East on which the news channels focus and which has nothing to do with the one that attracts them.

It is true that ever since oil was discovered, the Arab world has been split between those who have too much capital and those with too little. But it is also true that the contrast between the two faces of the region has never been as stark. It is not unusual to meet tourists who have visited Dubai without realising that it is anywhere near the Middle East – let alone in it.