US and Emirati officials back bilateral business coalition as American firms increase presence
May 19th, 2007The US and the UAE launched a bilateral business coalition aimed at strenghtening business ties, as US firms seek openings in the desert country which has become America’s biggest trading partner in the Middle East.
US government officials and the UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed al-Nahyan launched the US-UAE Business Council just more than a year after a US political outcry scuppered a bid by Dubai’s DP World to take over a major US port operator.
Daeman Harris, an executive at the US Chamber of Commerce, which is supporting the new business initiative, said the chamber would seek to ensure UAE officials and executives get to meet lawmakers as the two countries vie to deepen their commercial links.
“There are about 750 American companies operating, thriving in the UAE,” said US ambassador to the UAE Michele Sison at the coalition’s launch at a Washington hotel.