UAE Largest Trading Partner To US In Middle East
The UAE is the largest trading partner to the US in the Middle East region, and the state of Connecticut is integral to this economic partnership, Consul-General of the United Arab Emirates in New York has said. "In 2015, the state exported more than US$1.6 billion in merchandise to the UAE, making it the UAE’s sixth largest merchandise export market in the US," he said during a visit to Hartford, Connecticut, where he met with key U.S. government and business leaders as well as local students to increase UAE-US ties in Hartford, Connecticut.
As part of his visit, the Consul-General was hosted by the World Affairs Council (CT WAC) in a roundtable discussion on business opportunities and economic growth in the UAE.
During his visit, Consul-General Al-Suwaidi also delivered keynote remarks to students from the World Affairs Council Model United Nations (MUN) programme, which engages high school students interested in international relations and provides them with valuable career training.
This year’s theme for the MUN programme is climate change and global warming.
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 recognises 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," he said. "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 visited several northeastern states in the US to reinforce the UAE-US partnership and collaboration in the areas of trade and commerce and cultural engagement.
