 The Gulf War of 1990 had a negative financial effect on the city , as depositors withdrew their money and traders withdrew their trade , but subsequently , the city recovered in a changing political climate and thrived . Later in the 1990s , many foreign trading communities — first from Kuwait , during the Gulf War , and later from Bahrain , during the Shia unrest — moved their businesses to Dubai . Dubai provided refueling bases to allied forces at the Jebel Ali Free Zone during the Gulf War , and again during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq . Large increases in oil prices after the Gulf War encouraged Dubai to continue to focus on free trade and tourism . 
