UAE Ambassador: UAE and China continue to share common goal of ensuring sustainable growth, stability and prosperity

In 2019, Mr. Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri, United Arab Emirates Ambassador to China, received an interview with Sun Chao, head of the Belt and Road Ambassador interview Program. Mr. Dhaheri gave full recognition to the cooperation between China and the UAE as well as to the Belt and Road Initiative. The following are highlights of the conversation.

Photo of Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri, Ambassador of UAE to China (Photo provided to Guangming online)

“UAE is a country that can provide a lot of features.”

I want them to know that the UAE can provide a lot of features in term of tolerance, in term of a place that can accommodate many different nationalities. They can be respected no matter where they come from, what they believe and what they practice. Close to 300,000 Chinese are living in UAE and they call UAE home. They find life over there.

“I can only see a brighter future for our two countries together.”

Since 1984, the world has undergone significant economic, social, cultural and political shifts. Throughout that time, however, the UAE and China have continued to share a common goal of ensuring sustainable growth, stability and prosperity.

Trade is booming. Cultural dialogue is blossoming. And citizens of both nations are increasingly traveling to each other's countries. This development has required hard work to maintain our good relations and that must continue like any relationship.

We are expanding our partnership to reap the rewards of shared thinking such as an increasing alignment on the regulatory front Abu-Dhabi's financial regulators and China’s financial regulators have agreed to facilitate cross-border activities and enhance regulatory collaboration by way of currency swap agreement and the creation of a China-UAE joint investment fund. This is just a small example of how we are continuing to explore more means of partnering with each other and expanding the horizon of our relationship via schemes such as the Belt and Road Initiative and events such as President Xi Jinping's visit to the UAE earlier this year show how far this relationship has come and how committed we both are. I can only see a brighter future for our two countries together.

“Belt and Road Initiative would create more stability, bring countries and people much closer to each other in terms of cultural exchange.”

China has always been one of the great trading nations in its history of exploration and global trade expansion. This is well documented. That's not something invented. This initiative started five years ago. So much has been achieved. The UAE has an important role to play within the Belt and Road Initiative. As time goes by and the UAE continues to plan for the post-oil era. We are increasingly working with the Chinese government and companies involved in the Belt and Road Initiative to continue actively diversifying our economy to prepare for the post-oil era. It is truly a visionary idea. It's, in fact, a bright idea and holds the potential to bring people around the world together, united under one common purpose as we build partnership. So I'm a strong believer that BRI would create more stability, bring countries and people much closer to each other in terms of cultural exchange. And certainly the big objective is prosperity for mankind.