Consul General reinforces strong UAE-US relationship during visit to Hartford, Connecticut
October 7, 2016
NEW YORK – October 7, 2016 – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Consul General in New York, Majid Al-Suwaidi, met with key government and business leaders, as well as local students, to increase UAE-US ties in Hartford, Connecticut. As part of his visit, the World Affairs Council (CT WAC) hosted Consul General Al-Suwaidi in a roundtable discussion on business opportunities and economic growth in the UAE.
“The UAE is the largest trading partner to the US in the Middle East region and Connecticut is integral to this economic partnership,” Consul General Al-Suwaidi said. “In 2015, the state exported more than $1.6 billion in merchandise to the UAE, making it the UAE’s sixth largest merchandise export market in the US.”
During his visit, Consul General Al-Suwaidi also delivered keynote remarks to students from the World Affairs Council Model United Nations (MUN) program, which engages high school students interested in international relations and provides them with valuable career training.
This year’s theme for the MUN program is climate change and global warming. Consul General Al-Suwaidi’s remarks focused on his experience as the lead negotiator for the UAE in the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Paris, where he worked closely with global leaders to negotiate the landmark climate change agreement in December 2015.
“The UAE recognizes climate change as a major threat to the global community and has taken action to diversify its economy and create knowledge-based sectors to ensure a healthy environment and clean energy future,” said Consul General Al-Suwaidi. “The UAE was the first county in the Middle East to set a renewable energy target and continues to lead the region in promoting sustainable development.”
In recent months, Consul General Al-Suwaidi has visited several northeastern states in the US to reinforce the UAE-US partnership and collaboration in areas of trade and commerce and cultural engagement.
