U.S. National Day
UAE Guest of Honor Minister of State for Financial Affairs His Excellency Obaid Humaid Al Tayer.

Remarks by Martin R. Quinn, Chargé d'Affaires at the Celebration of U.S. National Day
March 17, 2008
Shangri-La Hotel, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

اصحاب السعادة، الزملاء والأصدقاء

انه لمن دواعي السعادة والشرف لي أن أرحب بكم في هذا المساء بمناسبة العيد الوطني لبلدنا

Excellencies, colleagues and friends, honored guests, ladies and gentlemen, good evening to you all.

I want to welcome you to this celebration of the U.S. National Day for the first time, as far as we know, on the mainland of the UAE.

Thank you for coming out on this fine evening in the middle of March.  Several people have asked:  "why March?"

After all, the actual U.S. National Day is July 4, but as we know it's pretty hot here in July, so it has been our tradition to celebrate National Day in February, on the President's Day holiday.  The truth is that after a number of intense White House visits by Vice President Cheney, First Lady Laura Bush and President George W. Bush, the staffs of Embassy Abu Dhabi and Consulate Dubai simply needed a break.  So we held off a month.

What we honor tonight, by celebrating National Day in March (besides St. Patrick), is the quality and active pace of our relations with the United Arab Emirates.  We were so busy taking care of that business that we had to delay our party a bit.  I hope you will find that it was worth the wait.

Indeed, our bilateral relations are strong.

Just two months ago, we saw the first ever -- and historic -- visit of a serving U.S. President to the UAE, for a program that covered an impressive range of topics: strategic and diplomatic cooperation; economic partnership; trade; technology; culture; the development of women and of young leaders; education; and so many areas in which the U.S. and the UAE have a flourishing partnership.

Hardly a week goes by when we do not have visitors from the U.S.  There are visitors here at this reception this evening, members of the World Affairs Council led by Ambassador Ron Neumann, who himself served in Abu Dhabi, as well as a delegation of Congressional staff, a group of investors and a party of American college presidents and provosts.  The numbers of private visitors, U.S. government officials, members of Congress, Cabinet secretaries, and others have increased sharply in the past three years as more of my countrymen and women signal their heightened interest in the United Arab Emirates and what is happening in this country.

Our economic and trade relations are very healthy.  There are more than 750 U.S. companies in the Emirates, and the UAE is America's largest export market in the region.  Our exports to the UAE have increased by approximately one-third since 2005, contributing to a total two-way trade in 2007 of nearly thirteen billion dollars. The UAE is also a major investor in the U.S., for example, their investment in Citigroup, Mubadala's investment in AMD, and the tie-up of Dubai Bourse with NASDAQ.

The UAE has joined the United States in addressing conventional as well as non-conventional, terrorist threats to Gulf security.  As evidenced in discussions last week, both sides clearly share a mutual commitment to peace and security in the Gulf region, including the situations in Iraq and Lebanon, counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, and infrastructure security.  Both countries welcome the near-unanimous passage of UNSCR 1803 and reiterated their strong desire for a diplomatic solution to dealing with Iran's nuclear program as well as international adherence to the requirements outlined in the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR 1803, 1747, and 1737).  The U.S. and the UAE have agreed to continue active cooperation and to maintain this important dialogue between our two countries.

We are forming new, productive partnerships on a daily basis.  The Cleveland Clinic's partnership with Sheikh Khalifa Medical Center and Johns Hopkins University Medical Center's partnership with Tawam Hospital in Al-Ain improve the total quality of life and medical care for everyone in the UAE.  Johns Hopkins has recently formed a partnership withAl-Rabah Hospital.  And we remember that Oasis Hospital in Al Ain was founded by American medical missionaries in 1960.

Our intellectual, cultural, professional and educational exchanges are thriving.   Hundreds of Emirati students are taking advantage of opportunities in the American educational system, either in the U.S. or right here in the UAE.   American scholars on the Fulbright Program are coming here to study and do research.  The American Universities in Dubai and Sharjah are getting company.  Michigan State University will be opening doors at Academic City in Dubai.  New York University will open soon in Abu Dhabi.  The world-famous Rochester Institute of Technology has announced plans to come to Dubai's Silicon Oasis.  George Mason University is already in operation in Ras al-Khaimah.  Boston University Dental School has opened a clinic at Dubai’s Healthcare City. 

Even in the fields of tourism we are building relations and working together.  Six Flags over America, Universal Studios and Busch Entertainment Group are announcing new initiatives in cooperation with Emirati partners.

There's not a field where the U.S. and the UAE are not finding possibilities for partnership.   We have even worked together in making movies, such as The Kingdom, with Jamie Foxx.  Others may be on the way.  We have a strong partnership, founded on mutual respect for each other, and the wise decisions of American and Emirati businesspeople and leaders.   I have every confidence that our children and our children’s children, God willing, will be working together for generations to come.

I would like to thank you all for joining us.  I wish to thank the Shangri-La Hotel for the elegant reception they have prepared, and also thank our colleagues who worked so hard to bring this event together.  Part of the theme of our Hollywood celebration tonight is to celebrate the star within; they are certainly among the many stars within our community.

Thank you very much for your attention.  I wish you a wonderful evening.  We will now have the presentation of the colors by the U.S. Marine Security Guard Detachment and the UAE and U.S. national anthems.  The Star-Spangled Banner will be sung by a splendid choral group, the Voices of Harmony. 

شكراً جزيلاً لحضوركم وأتمنى أن تقضوا معنا وقتاً رائعاً.   الآن حان وقت وحدة سلاح البحرية (المارينز) لتقوم بعرض العلم وبعدها عزف النشيدين الاماراتي والأمريكي

“Voices of Harmony” النشيد الوطني تعزفه فرقة أصوات النغم