Dubai, Beijing discuss ways to boost ties

This came in a meeting on Thursday at Dubai Municipality headquarters attended by Eng. Hussain Nasser Lootah, Acting Director General of Dubai Municipality, and Wang Anshun, the Deputy Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee and general secretary of the Political and Legal Committee, who led an eight-member delegation consisting of senior government officials and prominent businessmen from the city.

Mr. Lootah while receiving the delegation praised the Chinese people and the Beijing administration for the outstanding success of Olympics 2008 and noted that this shows the exemplary technical and administrative skills of the Chinese people.

He briefed the Beijing delegation on Dubai Municipality's major tasks such as urban planning, supervision of building and construction activities in the city, undertaking landscaping and city beautification projects, environment conservation, providing adequate drainage and irrigation network, overseeing public health and safety, and food control, among other things.

Lootah said:

"We work hard to make the city green and we re-use the sewage water after treating it to irrigate the city's green patches."

Lootah, who recalled his visit to Shanghai, said it is worth mentioning the twinning agreement signed between Dubai and Shanghai seeking to strengthen the bilateral relations between the two cities in various fields and exchanging expertise to improve civic work.

The Deputy Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee thanked Dubai Municipality for hosting the delegation and noted that his city is very much interested in further expanding the existing ties with Dubai in all fields, with particular focus on the construction field. He also invited Lootah and Dubai Municipality officials to visit Beijing.

Anshun said Beijing and Dubai have many things in common including the fast growth in history during the last few years. "Due to our huge population of 18 million, we face a big challenge in the form of traffic congestion. The city has 3.5 million vehicles. I think Dubai is also facing the problem of traffic congestion," he said.

He hoped that Dubai can increase its interaction with Beijing in a wide range of sectors. "We can participate in the construction of the city of Dubai. We also welcome investment from Dubai in the development of Beijing," Anshun said.

The Deputy Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee also praised Dubai's efforts to build it as a financial centre and trade hub in the world as well as the rapid development witnessed by the city.