The US Ambassador to the UAE recently visited the Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone (RAK FTZ) aiming to boost investments into RAK and step up US trade ties with the emirate.

During the one-day visit, Ambassador Michael Corbin was received by Oussama El Omari, CEO of RAK FTZ and representatives of the management team, at the headquarters of RAK FTZ.

El Omari welcomed 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.

“We are extremely privileged to welcome 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,” said El Omari.

“We enjoy a strategic business relationship with the US, which is one of the largest trade partners of the Arab world, the third 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,” he added.

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 per cent between 2000 and 2010, from $971.7 million to $1.15 billion. – TradeArabia News Service