You can look at it however way you please. The reality is that they built an entire town to satisfy their Western employees. In case you didn't know already, there is already way more than enough talent in the Middle East. It's just Arab executives usually think that Westerners = more skilled.

In the UAE for example, there is an "unspoken" pay ladder that depends on your nationality. Keep in mind that each of these gets a different salary for the exact same position.

1. UAE citizen

2. Western national

3. Western passport holder, but Arab

4. Same, but SE Asian

5. Arab

6. Southeast Asian

Source: lived in the UAE for 14 years.