Abu Dhabi
March 16, 2003
Good morning
and thank you all for getting up so early to attend this inaugural
breakfast for the sixth biannual International Defense Exhibition.
I would like to thank the American Business Group in Abu Dhabi and
the American Business Council in Dubai and Presidents John Velliquette
and Paul DeBenedictis for organizing this gathering, which is a
great opportunity for us to network before we all get busy with
the business of the exhibition. I am so pleased by the strong U.S.
presence of 70 U.S. firms at this year’s IDEX.
As you know, since IDEX was launched 10 years ago, it has become
one of the premier defense exhibitions in the world and continues
to attract the top companies in the defense services industry. The
USA Pavilion features a number of companies exhibiting the latest
equipment and services for the defense and security industries.
The Embassy’s Commercial Office, headed by Commercial Counselor
Nancy Charles-Parker, has a booth in the USA Pavilion to assist
companies. There are also a number of American companies displaying
products outside the USA Pavilion and we welcome them all and thank
them for joining us this year. Our strong presence is a tribute
to the IDEX organizers, AUSA and a good reflection of our close
bilateral ties with the UAE. In this uncertain world, with threats
coming from all corners, events such as IDEX allow us to pool our
collective expertise in order to build upon and defend our joint
security.
Let me note at the outset that I know many of you are concerned by the course of events in the region. Most of you know by now that on March 10 the Department of State authorized the voluntary departure of family members and non-emergency personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the U.S. Consulate General in Dubai. The decision was taken as a result of our overall assessment of the security situation in the region at this time, and represents a prudent measure as we prepare for various contingencies in the region should military action against Iraq become necessary.
I want you to know that we have full confidence in the UAE government’s ability to protect American citizens, property, and U.S. diplomatic facilities throughout the country. The government’s support and cooperation have been more than outstanding. I also want to tell you that we are not planning to reduce our diplomatic or consular staff or curtail services at this time. The Embassy and the Consulate in Dubai will remain open for business and will continue to provide the full range of services to American citizens and the general public. We have launched an outreach program to American communities across the UAE to explain our decision and learn their concerns.
The strength of our bilateral relationship is key to the U.S., particularly at a time when we are facing the potential of a military conflict with Iraq. Nobody wants war, but it is clear that the limited progress we have seen from Baghdad is a function of the presence of a large military force in the region, forces from nations who are willing to put their young men and women in harm’s way in order to rid the world of Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction. It is the judgment of the United States and a growing number of nations that Saddam Hussein has not made a strategic decision to disarm Iraq.
This is a dangerous game that Saddam is playing dangerous for the United States, dangerous for the region, and dangerous for the world. He continues to make a mockery of the numerous UN Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 1441, which very clearly calls for immediate and complete disarmament. Although the latest report by Drs. Blix and Al-Baradei discussed some movement on process and even some new activity on substance, there remains a catalog of non-cooperation, including Iraq’s failure to come clean on its mobile biological units and vast network of underground facilities. As Secretary Powell recently put it, “We’ve had 12 years of non-compliance on the part of Saddam Hussein under the various UN resolutions. It has been almost six months since the President gave his speech at the UN and four months since Resolution 1441 was unanimously passed. How much more time should we wait for the kind of total compliance expected by Resolution 1441?”
Now, I’d like to provide a very brief overview of our commercial relationship with the UAE, particularly in the area of military procurement. The UAE ranks among the top 10 countries with which we run a trade surplus. With a $60 billion a year economy, the UAE is a great place for U.S. companies to do business. The UAE is the fourth largest market for U.S. exports in the region after Saudi Arabia, Israel and Egypt. Anyone looking around the UAE will see the numerous U.S. companies that have flocked here in recognition of the fact that the UAE truly is the undisputed commercial capital of the Gulf. To name a few of the companies: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, FedEx, Ford, GM, Harris, Occidental Petroleum, Conoco, Microsoft, Oracle, Merrill Lynch, Motorola, Marriott, CNN – I could just go on and on.
The key point is that U.S. business sees the UAE as a place to establish a regional presence because of the can-do, pro-business orientation of the leadership and the excellent infrastructure.
On the military side, our companies continue to do well, supplying approximately 30 percent of the UAE’s imports of military hardware and services in the face of fierce competition from French, German, British and South African rivals. The UAE’s decision in March 2000 to purchase 80 Block 60 Desert Falcon F-16’s from Lockheed Martin solidified our long-term strategic relationship and signaled the UAE military’s desire to enhance interoperability with U.S. forces. The sale and the continued strong relationship between U.S. contractors and the UAE military represent the growing trust and confidence in our mutual ties.
I know you all are eager to get to the exhibition grounds for the
opening ceremonies so I’ll open the floor for questions now.