UAE Embassy in Washington hosts US Governors

WASHINGTON, DC (28 February 2009) WAM – UAE's Ambassador in Washington has called for more cooperation and continued consultation between UAE and US.

Hosting a reception in honour of the governors of various states, HE Yousef Al Otaiba, UAE Ambassador to the United States also expressed the mission's desire to enhance interaction with the governors in the joint interests of both the countries.

The reception, the first to be given by an Arab diplomatic mission, in honour of the National Governors Association (NGA) was attended by UAE Minister of Foreign Trade HE Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, who is currently in US to take part in the annual conference of the World Affairs Council.

The NGA recently concluded its annual Winter Meeting 2009 highlighting infrastructure financing best practices from around the world.

Founded a hundred years ago, the National Governors Association (NGA) is the collective voice of the nation's governors and one of Washington, D.C.'s, most respected public policy organizations. Its members are the governors of the 50 states, three territories and two commonwealths.

In his welcome address, Ambassador Al Otaiba outlined various avenues of cooperation between UAE and US and cited examples of this cooperation in the fields of education and healthcare.

He also noted the growing trade between the two countries as UAE has become the largest market for the US products in the entire Arab world. UAE is also the Arab country with the largest presence of American companies, he added.

Ambassador Al Otaiba also noted the fact that a number of Emirati firms are building factories and huge utilities in New York and North Carolina, thus creating thousands of new job opportunities in these states.

During the last thirty years, the fruitful and positive relations between UAE and US continued to grow, while in the last decade these relations witnessed a fundamental growth in the fields of security, economy and culture, the ambassador recalled.

Speaking on behalf of the NGA, Chairman and Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell thanked the UAE mission for hosting the reception, hailed the strong relations and emphasised the need for taking them to wider horizons.

The NGA had discussed in its annual meeting an initiative proposed by Gov. Rendell under the title 'Strengthening Our Infrastructure for a Sustainable Future'.