(Seattle/Tacoma, Washington)—Her Excellency Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of Foreign Trade of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), highlighted the strength of the U.S.-U.A.E. trade relationship in a keynote speech at a reception on Thursday.  The event was hosted by officials from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry (Dubai Chamber), the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle, and the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle, Washington.  Senior government officials, international business executives, and members of the greater Washington community attended the reception to welcome Her Excellency Sheikha Lubna and the accompanying high-level delegation from the U.A.E. to the Seattle metropolitan area.

The evening’s program kicked off with welcome remarks provided by senior officials from the host organizations including His Excellency Hamad Buamim, Director General of the Dubai Chamber; J. Tyloe Washburn, Former Chairman of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber; Bill Glassford, Chairman of the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle; and Danny Sebright, President of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council.

In his remarks, Sebright applauded the U.A.E. Foreign Minister for her commitment to the advancement of the U.S.-U.A.E. commercial relationship and for travelling to the state of Washington—the top exporting state to the U.A.E. in 2011— to celebrate important milestones in the relationship.

His Excellency Buamim echoed Sebright’s sentiments and stressed the economic importance of the new link between Dubai and Seattle/Tacoma to the advancement of trade relations and information exchange between the two centers of commerce.

In their remarks, Washburn and Glassford welcomed Sheikha Lubna back to greater Seattle and stressed the importance of continuing to strengthen the economic, social, and cultural relationship between the Greater Seattle region and the U.A.E.

Following an introduction from the hosts, Her Excellency Sheikha Lubna took the stage to delivered her keynote speech.  In her remarks, the U.A.E.’s Minister of Foreign Trade underscored the significance of commerce and trade between the state of Washington and the U.A.E. to the overall commercial relationship between America and the Emirates.  She cited the newly released statistics indicating that trade had grown between the two countries by 43% over the last year to a record high of $18.34 billion, with $2.75 in American exports leaving Washington for the Emirates, in 2011. Her Excellency Sheikha Lubna highlighted the importance of partnership and investment in the commercial aviation sector to the economies of both countries and applauded Emirates and Boeing for their growing commercial relationship.

“We are in the greater Seattle area this week to celebrate two significant milestones serving to strengthen economic, social, and cultural bonds between our countries, and our communities,” said H.E. Sheikha Lubna. “This week’s flight launch and delivery of Boeing aircraft has clear economic benefits and will serve to create and sustain jobs and generate commerce between the U.S. and the U.A.E.”

Her Excellency Sheikha Lubna, senior officials from the U.A.E. government, and executives from Emirates Airline— including His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of the Emirates Group, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), and Chairman of Dubai Airports— flew in on the inaugural flight from Dubai on Thursday and are in the state of Washington this week to celebrate the launch of Emirates Airline’s commercial service to Seattle/Tacoma International Airport and the delivery of Boeing’s one thousandth 777 to Emirates.  The U.A.E. delegation is joined by His Excellency Yousef Al Otaiba, U.A.E. Ambassador to the U.S., a number of senior officials from the Embassy of the U.A.E. in Washington, D.C., and Justin Siberell, Consul General of the U.S. Consulate in Dubai, who are in Seattle/Tacoma for the week’s festivities.

-Ends-

About the Dubai Chamber:  

Established in 1965, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a non-profit public entity, whose mission is to represent, support and protect the interests of the business community in Dubai by creating a favorable business environment, supporting the development of business, and by promoting Dubai as an international business hub.  For more information, visit: www.dubaichamber.com 

About the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber:  

The Seattle Metropolitan Chamber is the largest and most diverse network of businesses in Seattle and the metro area. Our 2,200 member companies represent businesses of all types and sizes and are located throughout the four-county Puget Sound region. For more information, visit: www.seattlechamber.com 

About the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle:  

The Trade Alliance is a public/private partnership whose mission is to promote the Greater Seattle region in international markets, connect the region—its businesses and organizations–to those markets, bring the region together to be more successful internationally and to educate our region on the importance of international business broadly defined. For more information, visit: www.seattletradealliance.com

About the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council:  

The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council is a progressive business advocacy organization solely committed to the advancement of the trade and commercial relationship between the United States and the United Arab Emirates. The Business Council actively works to ensure that the U.S. and U.A.E. remain attractive destinations for foreign direct investment by conducting effective policy advocacy, undertaking various trade promotion initiatives, providing ongoing updates on the business climate in both countries, and helping develop strategic relationships between U.S. and U.A.E. business and government officials.  For more information, visit:www.usuaebusiness.org