Ambassador Wahba’s Farewell Remarks
American Business Group
May 31, 2004
Good afternoon. I want to thank you for this wonderful farewell luncheon and for all of your support for me and for the U.S. mission in the UAE over the last three years. Derek and I are fortunate to have had the opportunity to get to know many of you — at both work and play. We’ve shared many difficult times as well as many happy occasions. Normally I would spend some time talking about regional events, but I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to briefly review what we have accomplished together over the last three years.
I arrived in the UAE on October 4, 2001, less than a month after the terrible attack of September 11. As you remember, two of the hijackers were from the UAE and some of the money that funded the attacks moved through the UAE — as well as through the U.S. banking system. It quickly became clear that the UAE government was as shocked as we were about 9/11 and about the participation of two of their citizens in it. Whereas some governments and people went into denial, I can say that the UAE did not, and that the government and the people of the UAE have worked very closely with us and with the international community to flight terrorism. Among other things, the UAE passed a comprehensive anti money laundering law in 2002. In addition, the UAE contributed significant humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to Afghanistan and to Iraq in the aftermaths of the conflict in both countries. I can truly say that U.S. – UAE bilateral cooperation, especially in the political and security field, has gotten much closer since that terrible day in September three years ago. In order to formalize this deeper political cooperation, we held our first strategic partnership meeting in November 2002 and our second in March of this year. This fall we plan to hold our first joint military commission, which will help formalize the military relationship in the same way that the strategic partnership formalizes the political relationship.
Turning to a subject that is probably more interesting to this audience and equally important, I would like to discuss the evolution of the economic and commercial relationship between the U.S. and the UAE. Over the last three years, U.S. non-defence exports to the UAE have grown from $2.6 billion to $3.5 billion. The UAE is our second largest export market for goods in the GCC and our 28th largest export market for goods worldwide. Total two-way trade between the U.S. and the UAE last year was $4.6 billion. U.S. exports to the UAE run the gamut, but the largest areas have been machinery, aircraft, vehicles, electrical machinery, and agricultural products.
Over the last three years, the Foreign and Commercial Service has facilitated over $6.5 billion in sales. In 2000, FCS helped facilitate 11 sales. Last year, it helped facilitate 168. As you know, one of my top priorities has been to support US firms and to ensure a level playing field for American businesses here in the UAE. I am very proud of our FCS team lead by Nancy Charles-Parker and their partnership with you has been very effective.
On the broader economic level, we have also seen significant changes over the last few years. For example, there have been major improvements in intellectual property protection over the last two years. In 2002, the UAE passed new copyright, patent, and trademark laws that brought the UAE into line with international standards. American companies are active in working with the UAE government to ensure that the rules are enforced. According to the Business Software Alliance, the UAE now has the lowest incidence of software piracy in the region. The Embassy helped broker an agreement between PhRMA and the UAE Ministries of Health and Finance giving U.S. – patented drugs data exclusivity protection in the UAE market equal to the patent term. In 2003, the Ministry of Health issued a circular codifying this practice for all innovative pharmaceutical products.
Moving beyond IPR, we are also seeing changes in other areas. This year, we are seeing some revisions to the UAE’s company law and its securities law that look like they will make some improvements to the business climate here. Of course, we also saw the ending of Etisalat’s traditional telecommunications monopoly earlier this year.
Most recently, the U.S. and the UAE signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement and held the first TIFA Council meeting in Washington. The TIFA Council is the forum for the U.S. and the UAE to discuss ways to improve our trade and investment relationship to the benefit of both our countries. Our discussions focus on delivering concrete results rather than platitudes. The first meeting gave both sides a chance to get to know each other better. Experts from USTR, the Departments of State, Labor, and Commerce, the Customs Service, and other U.S. government agencies had the opportunity to meet their counterparts from the UAE and learn more about the system here. For their part, the UAE delegation had the chance to learn more about U.S. trade law and how the U.S. system works. We had comprehensive discussions on issues ranging from Intellectual Property Rights enforcement to labor concerns and environmental regulations in the UAE. We discussed financial services, shelf life standards, government procurement, and agency rules and local ownership requirements. The meetings were excellent and our Washington participants were very impressed with the UAE’s economic polices and its dedication to improving the commercial and trade relations between our two countries. To make the process work, however, we need your help. We need to know what issues concern you, and we will work on resolving them. You can talk to us at the embassy or your Washington offices can go directly to USTR. We will raise your concerns with the UAE and try to resolve them. The TIFA Council gives us an important institutional framework to help improve the business climate and to help you. The private sector also can use the TIFA process to raise its concerns directly with the UAEG. For example, at the signing ceremony and again at the first TIFA council meeting, there were business roundtables with Dr. Khirbash and key members of the delegation. We view the private sector as an integral part of the process.
A TIFA Council is not a FTA negotiation. Neither side is under any legal obligation to change its policies, but it does give both sides the opportunity to highlight issues of concern and urge that they be resolved. A TIFA is also a necessary first step toward a Free Trade Agreement. It lets us highlight and resolve issues and see if both parties want to move to FTA negotiations. Therefore, the TIFA council process has a lot more “weight” than you might expect from an “agreement to discuss.”
The next logical question is, “ok so when do we start FTA negotiations.” I know the UAE wants to move as quickly as possible to FTA negotiations. For our part, the President is committed to deepening trade relations with the Middle East and we hope to have a Middle East Free Trade Area within a decade. We are working with countries on a bilateral basis to achieve this goal. We signed a FTA with Jordan back in 2000 and just concluded our negotiations with Morocco in March of this year. The draft text for the Moroccan agreement is up on USTR’s web site for public comment. On May 27, we concluded negotiations on a FTA with Bahrain. Although the Administration has not determined with whom we will negotiate the next FTA in the region after Bahrain, it is clear that the UAE is a strong candidate. We have excellent bilateral relations, it is the 3rd largest economy in the Arab World and has pro-free trade policies in place.
Our FTAs cover services, government procurement, and investment as well as goods. We would be looking for the UAE to open up in these areas, which should attract more investment into the UAE. In the long run, as the UAE seeks to develop its economy further, foreign investment will be key to its plans. So I think a FTA would be good for the UAE and for U.S. companies already here as well as U.S. companies looking for oversees opportunities. If you are interested in the kind of FTA we would negotiate here — take a look at the U.S. – Morocco FTA on USTR’s web site as a good example. If you believe that a FTA would benefit your businesses in the UAE, I would encourage you to make your views heard both in Washington and here.
Many U.S. businesses are already well established here and interested in increasing their presence in the country. With current events in Saudi Arabia and the region it’s not surprising that more businesses are moving here. As we all know, the UAE is a great place to live. Under President Zayed’s leadership, the UAE has developed into an open, tolerant, multicultural society. President Zayed and First Lady Sheikha Fatima have also promoted education and encouraged women’s participation in all fields. The share of the federal budget going to education is 25%, and women greatly outnumber men in all of the university campuses. In fact, 70% of the students in the UAE University are women and 59 percent of UAE women are working, 30 percent of them in decision-making positions. Sixty percent of women work as professionals in the education, health and nursing fields. Over 35 percent of the employees at the Ministry of Higher Education are women and 29 percent of the diplomatic corps at the MFA are women. These are encouraging numbers in the context of the G-8’s objectives for supporting regional reform under the Greater Middle East Initiative, particularly supporting regional efforts to promote women’s leadership and participation in civic life. The initiative was developed in consultation with reform leaders in the region, and will be discussed at the G-8 summit. The current initiative covers a number of areas including economic reform, civil society and democratization. It is a dynamic plan, which is intended to evolve over time as we work with the region’ s reformers, including the UAE.
None of what we have accomplished over the last three years would be possible without your help. As I have said many times before, the American Business Group has played an essential role in developing and maintaining trade between the United Arab Emirates and the U.S. You are the experts on what it takes to do business here. My staff and I have learned from you every time we participated in round tables discussions or other fora. It has been a pleasure working with you and I know that you will work as well with my successor to make her feel welcome and to help the Embassy help American businesses.
Thank you for everything.
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