US-Arab Chamber releases United Arab Emirates special report

The 40-page analysis in U.S.-Arab Tradeline focuses on trade and investment opportunities in all seven emirates in such sectors as financial services, tourism, aerospace, transportation & logistics, the environment, construction & engineering, security, and oil & gas.

The Special Report includes exclusive interviews with H.E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, the UAE's Minister of Economy, H.E. Saqr Ghobash, the UAE's Ambassador to the United States, and the Hon. Michele Sison, the U.S. Ambassador to the UAE.

David Hamod, NUSACC President & CEO, says, the Special Report "highlights why the UAE is on the cutting edge of so much that is happening economically in the Arab world today. The government has made the UAE a first class investment destination and international hub for everything under the sun, and the private sector is promoting an environment of entrepreneurship and commercial excellence."

"The UAE serves as one of the largest re-export hubs in the world, so we have market access to almost two billion consumers around us," notes H.E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi.

"As long as we maintain an environment that is investor friendly, and as long as we adhere to transparent rules and regulations, I am confident that we will be in good standing with our trading partners."

Says Ambassador Michele Sison, "We view the UAE as a valuable partner. There are over 750 U.S. companies physically present in the UAE, many of which use the UAE as a platform to serve the entire region."

"Our trade is booming because the UAE is booming," notes Frank Lavin, U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce. "This is one of the best business platforms in the world and one of the most inviting environments in which to work."

U.S.-Arab Tradeline notes that U.S. companies exported nearly $12 billion in merchandise to the UAE in 2006, representing an increase of more than 40 percent over 2005 levels.

According to NUSACC, exports are projected to rise another 24 percent in 2007. The UAE economy grew by an estimated 10.2 percent in 2006, says the U.S. Government, and more than 70 percent of the country's GDP is now generated by non-oil sectors.

"Commerce has always played an influential role in shaping relations among nations," says H.E. Saqr Ghobash, the UAE Ambassador to the United States, "and our part of the world has been a crossroads for traders and cultural exchange for millennia. The UAE and the USA share a solid commitment to free enterprise and open markets, which helps to explain why the UAE has become America's number one export market in the Middle East."