Al Bhatti
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April 30, 2014
UAE works to build Latin American links
Mohammad’s visit highlights nation’s resolve to oppose narrow politics, taking a far more open view of the world
The UAE wants to build strong global alliances with the emerging economies of the next century, in addition to its traditional links with Europe, America and the Arab world. It is important that the UAE wants these new links to be based on strengthening mutual interests and be more economic and business-focused rather than ideologically driven.
A significant part of what the UAE has to offer is its place at the crossroads of the world as it takes advantage of its geographical location at the centre of Asia, Africa and Europe. In addition, the UAE also has institutions with lot of capital to invest and it intends to develop expertise in specific strategic sectors, which are open to be shared with partners around the world.
It is in this context that His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, spent a week visiting Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile, accompanied by Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister, who went on to visit several other countries as well.
“The UAE can serve as Latin America’s gate to the central and eastern part of the globe,” said Shaikh Mohammed. “There are scores of opportunities we can build on with our partners in Latin America, which are blessed with huge mineral and agricultural resources, backed by an impressive industrial growth.” For example, Mexico’s gold industry is already well aware that the UAE is its largest market.
A large part of the official sides of the tour was devoted to signing agreements that would give a legal framework under which future projects can start with more certainty of a secure environment. Shaikh Mohammad said that signing of numerous cooperation agreements in the fields of investment, defence and culture would usher in further comprehensive collaboration and pave the way to building long-lasting and sustainable strategic partnerships.
The language used in these statements and in the agreements sums up the mutual spirit of the cooperative relationship that the UAE is seeking with its partners. While this may seem obvious to the business-friendly and globally-aware community of the UAE, it stands in stark contrast to the antics of the previous Iranian government under president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who sought close relations with Latin American countries like Venezuela to build a determinedly anti-American alliance. The UAE has stood against such narrow politics and takes a far more open view of the world. The UAE wants to reach out far beyond its boundaries to foster positive relations across multiple platforms with the global community.
Transport
Given the UAE’s position as a global hub, and its large air and sea ports, it was only natural that travel and logistics were major themes of the trip and featured prominently in all the countries visited, focusing on both business travel and cargo movement as well as leisure tourism.
And the UAE is already doing a lot in this sector: DP World is one of the world’s largest port operators and manages ports in Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Suriname and the Dominican Republic. As DP World says, it is well aware that efficient infrastructure actively contributes to the development of trade, reducing supply chain costs and speeding up supply of goods to the markets. And that with an average terminal concession running for 40 years, DP World naturally becomes part of the communities in which it works.
Another example of how the UAE is connecting Latin America to different parts of the world came when Emirates started a direct flight to Sao Paolo in Brazil. Emirates thought that it was opening up to one of Brazil’s’ great cities and the heart of one of the strongest emerging economies.
It was indeed doing just that, but in addition it found a totally new set of customers. Emirates had not realised that Sao Paolo had a large Brazilian population of Japanese origin, who were delighted to find such a direct route open to them to visit their relatives in Japan via Dubai. Within months, Emirates was serving sushi on its flights to Sao Paolo and had opened a new market for travel by linking Brazil to Japan.
Energy
The UAE has taken a preeminent position in nurturing renewable and sustainable energy technologies. Its work in setting up the nuclear power plant in Al Baraka in Abu Dhabi is setting new standards of transparency and international acceptability in handling the fuel so that there is no hint of any misuse. And Abu Dhabi’s Masdar project is discovering new ways to use sustainable technologies on a large scale as it develops Masdar City.
So it was interesting that Shaikh Mohammad mentioned cooperation in energy several times on his tour to both Mexico and Brazil, while in Argentina, he made a much more specific reference to developing mutual interests in energy and peaceful nuclear energy in particular. It may well be that the skills that are being worked on in the UAE can combine with those in Argentina as both countries seek a more sustainable future than simply burning hydrocarbons till they run out.
UAE works to build Latin American links | GulfNews.com
UAE works to build Latin American links
Mohammad’s visit highlights nation’s resolve to oppose narrow politics, taking a far more open view of the world
The UAE wants to build strong global alliances with the emerging economies of the next century, in addition to its traditional links with Europe, America and the Arab world. It is important that the UAE wants these new links to be based on strengthening mutual interests and be more economic and business-focused rather than ideologically driven.
A significant part of what the UAE has to offer is its place at the crossroads of the world as it takes advantage of its geographical location at the centre of Asia, Africa and Europe. In addition, the UAE also has institutions with lot of capital to invest and it intends to develop expertise in specific strategic sectors, which are open to be shared with partners around the world.
It is in this context that His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, spent a week visiting Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile, accompanied by Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister, who went on to visit several other countries as well.
“The UAE can serve as Latin America’s gate to the central and eastern part of the globe,” said Shaikh Mohammed. “There are scores of opportunities we can build on with our partners in Latin America, which are blessed with huge mineral and agricultural resources, backed by an impressive industrial growth.” For example, Mexico’s gold industry is already well aware that the UAE is its largest market.
A large part of the official sides of the tour was devoted to signing agreements that would give a legal framework under which future projects can start with more certainty of a secure environment. Shaikh Mohammad said that signing of numerous cooperation agreements in the fields of investment, defence and culture would usher in further comprehensive collaboration and pave the way to building long-lasting and sustainable strategic partnerships.
The language used in these statements and in the agreements sums up the mutual spirit of the cooperative relationship that the UAE is seeking with its partners. While this may seem obvious to the business-friendly and globally-aware community of the UAE, it stands in stark contrast to the antics of the previous Iranian government under president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who sought close relations with Latin American countries like Venezuela to build a determinedly anti-American alliance. The UAE has stood against such narrow politics and takes a far more open view of the world. The UAE wants to reach out far beyond its boundaries to foster positive relations across multiple platforms with the global community.
Transport
Given the UAE’s position as a global hub, and its large air and sea ports, it was only natural that travel and logistics were major themes of the trip and featured prominently in all the countries visited, focusing on both business travel and cargo movement as well as leisure tourism.
And the UAE is already doing a lot in this sector: DP World is one of the world’s largest port operators and manages ports in Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Suriname and the Dominican Republic. As DP World says, it is well aware that efficient infrastructure actively contributes to the development of trade, reducing supply chain costs and speeding up supply of goods to the markets. And that with an average terminal concession running for 40 years, DP World naturally becomes part of the communities in which it works.
Another example of how the UAE is connecting Latin America to different parts of the world came when Emirates started a direct flight to Sao Paolo in Brazil. Emirates thought that it was opening up to one of Brazil’s’ great cities and the heart of one of the strongest emerging economies.
It was indeed doing just that, but in addition it found a totally new set of customers. Emirates had not realised that Sao Paolo had a large Brazilian population of Japanese origin, who were delighted to find such a direct route open to them to visit their relatives in Japan via Dubai. Within months, Emirates was serving sushi on its flights to Sao Paolo and had opened a new market for travel by linking Brazil to Japan.
Energy
The UAE has taken a preeminent position in nurturing renewable and sustainable energy technologies. Its work in setting up the nuclear power plant in Al Baraka in Abu Dhabi is setting new standards of transparency and international acceptability in handling the fuel so that there is no hint of any misuse. And Abu Dhabi’s Masdar project is discovering new ways to use sustainable technologies on a large scale as it develops Masdar City.
So it was interesting that Shaikh Mohammad mentioned cooperation in energy several times on his tour to both Mexico and Brazil, while in Argentina, he made a much more specific reference to developing mutual interests in energy and peaceful nuclear energy in particular. It may well be that the skills that are being worked on in the UAE can combine with those in Argentina as both countries seek a more sustainable future than simply burning hydrocarbons till they run out.
UAE works to build Latin American links | GulfNews.com