US Ambassador visits RAK FTZ, discusses investment opportunities for the US SMEs in RAK
HE Michael Corbin, the US Ambassador to the UAE, today visited Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone (RAK FTZ) – one of the fastest-growing and most cost-effective free trade zones in the UAE. The visit was aimed to boost investments into Ras Al Khaimah and provide impetus to the US trade cooperation with the emirate.
During the one-day visit, HE Ambassador Corbin was received by Oussama El Omari, CEO of RAK FTZ and representatives of the management team, at the headquarters of RAK FTZ.
HE Ambassador Corbin was accompanied by Justin Siberell, Consul General, Robert Bannerman, Principal Commercial Officer for Foreign Commercial Service at the US Consulate, Dubai, which works under the aegis of the US Department of Commerce. Also present at the meeting was Michael Carney, Foreign Service Officer in Economic and Political Section of the consulate.
El Omari welcomed HE Ambassador Corbin and the accompanying officials, assuring them of all support in future trade cooperation within the emirate. The meeting focused on the matters of future trade collaboration.
In his comments on the visit, El Omari said: “We are extremely privileged to welcome HE Michael Corbin, the US Ambassador to the UAE, to Ras Al Khaimah and showcase the world-class facilities and services on offer at RAK FTZ. We enjoy a strategic business relationship with the US, which is one of the largest trade partners of the Arab world, the 3rd import partner of the UAE after China and India, and a very important market for us. We discussed a series of close cooperation opportunities, especially for US SMEs. The cost effectiveness of setting up business at RAK FTZ, coupled with value-added services and easy access to do business are the salient advantages we offer at the free zone.”
The visit is expected to go a long way in building the strategic relationship that the UAE enjoys with the US. “The visit by the US Ambassador, and the high-level US officials to RAK FTZ offered us the opportunity to reinforce our positioning as a business hub geared at helping SMEs and global businesses to set-up base in the region. Our talks today focused on developing commercial partnerships in the future. We definitely see vast potential in any future cooperation that may arise out of this visit,” said El Omari.
In 2010, the UAE was the largest export market for the US in the Middle East and the 21st largest export market for the US globally. The UAE’s exports to the US rose by 18% between 2000 and 2010, from USD 971.7 million to USD 1.15 billion. While the UAE imports of the US goods decreased from 2009 to 2010, overall from 2000 to 2010, the UAE imports of the US goods increased more than five-fold, from USD 2.29 billion to USD 11.64 billion.
More than 750 US firms have a presence in the UAE, from Bechtel and ExxonMobil to Starbucks and Cold Stone Creamery. In addition to being an important supplier of energy, the UAE is now becoming an increasingly relevant consumer of energy. One of the top five import partners, the US trades with the UAE on a wide array of products, including transport equipment, machinery, computer and electronic products, primary metal manufacturing and chemicals.
