Well, in Canada we had primary radar (along with secondary) same as here. Quick course: 2 radar systems working simultaneously: primary radar is the energy that hits the airplane, secondary radar 'talks' to the transponder. Today the names should be reversed, but whatever. Soooo, it's obviously the primary radar which gives returns from clouds (precip), enabling controllers to 'see' weather. However, although we have the equipment, for some reason we don't display this info in the UAE. Actually, we don't need it 99% of the time.
Again back home, this primary radar is often 'digitized' to give a better presentation, and also, many places have a specialized weather radar feed superimposed on the controllers scope, giving even more accurate info. And we had actual lightning shown on our screens.
Having said all that, the fanciest and most accurate weather radar is still the stuff you have in the cockpit.
But as I alluded to earlier, equipment is only a part of the problem...