(Washington, D.C., United States) – The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) in Washington, D.C. held its U.A.E. 41st National Day reception on Wednesday in the embassy’s ballroom. The event was hosted by His Excellency Yousef Al Otaiba, U.A.E. Ambassador to the United States, and sponsored by Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways — the two national carriers of the U.A.E. Distinguished diplomats, high-ranking government officials, corporate executives, media personalities, and stakeholders in the broader U.S.-U.A.E. relationship from both countries gathered with Emirati guests and embassy staff to celebrate the U.A.E.’s 41st National Day.

The theme of this year’s reception was “Building Bridges, Creating Connections”, and highlighted the new Emirates and Etihad Airways non-stop flights to Washington, D.C. set to be in full operation by March of 2013.

In his keynote remarks, Ambassador Al Otaiba spoke about the growing social and economic ties between the U.A.E. and the U.S., and applauded Dubai’s Emirates Airlines and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways on the launch of their respective non-stop flights to Dulles International Airport — Emirates Airlines on September 12, 2012 and Etihad Airways on March 31, 2013.

“Emirates and Etihad Airways’ flights to the United States, and now to Washington, D.C., will make it easier for Americans to discover all of our Emirates,” said Ambassador Al Otaiba.

Following the Ambassador’s remarks, James Baxter, Vice President of North America at Emirates, and Geert Boven, Senior Vice President-Americas at Etihad Airways, spoke to the importance of the U.S. market to their respective airlines’s expansion plans and offered congratulations to the U.A.E. on its 41 years of sovereignty.

After the formal program concluded, Ambassador Al Otaiba thanked guests for joining in the celebration of the U.A.E.’s history and encouraged them to visit and learn more about the country.

The Embassy of the U.A.E. in Washington, D.C. provided live updates and pictures of last evening’s reception which can be found on Twitter, by visiting www.twitter.com/UAEEmbassyUS.

In a September issue of The National, an-Abu Dhabi based English daily, Danny Sebright, president of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council provided insight into the economic impact of the new Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways flights to D.C. The article can be found here: http://ow.ly/fQJ49.