For Immediate Release: June 9, 2011
Contact: Tim Truman (202) 482-3809
Commerce Trade Official Underscores Opportunities for American Companies in the Persian Gulf
Infrastructure Development is Key Sector for U.S. Companies Doing Business in Region
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – U.S. Commerce Assistant Secretary for International Trade Michael Camuñez today concluded a six-day visit to the Persian Gulf where current and potential infrastructure projects throughout the region value more than $1 trillion, creating an excellent commercial opportunities for U.S. companies.
In remarks to the American Chamber of Commerce in Abu Dhabi and the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, Camuñez reiterated President Obama’s commitment to deepen and strengthen the United States’ economic partnership with the region through enhanced trade and investment.
“Fundamentally, the President’s vision of the National Export Initiative is to deepen and expand our commercial engagement with our most important trading partners, and certainly one of our most important and strategic trading relationships is with the Gulf region,” Camuñez said. “If the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) were considered a single market, it would be our tenth largest export market.”
During meetings with public and private sector officials during stops in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Doha, Qatar; and Abu Dhabi and Dubai, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), Camuñez amplified the desire on the part of the United States to continue in its role as a strategic partner to the Gulf.
“As these countries diversify their economies beyond fossil fuels, the opportunities for U.S. companies are expanding rapidly,” Camuñez said. “American companies hold a competitive advantage in key sectors such as infrastructure, alternative energy, and services.”
The International Trade Administration has expanded its efforts to promote U.S. export opportunities throughout the Gulf Region via a series of trade missions. In the past year, Under Secretary for International Trade Francisco Sánchez has led trade and policy missions to Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. He is expected return to Qatar and visit the U.A.E. in late October 2011 with a multimodal transportation and infrastructure trade delegation.
“Companies throughout the region have a high regard for American innovation and an eagerness to engage with American companies of all sizes,” Sánchez said. “These countries are open for business and I hope that American companies will seize the opportunity.”
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