The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, hosted a roundtable luncheon and discussion with the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency Hazardous Materials delegation on Wednesday in Washington D.C. as part of the group’s weeklong visit to the U.S. The roundtable brought together public and private-sector stakeholders to discuss various aspects of hazardous materials management in the United States.

Following an introduction from U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council President Danny Sebright, Her Excellency Razan Al Mubarak, Secretary General, Abu Dhabi Environment Agency and Managing Director of the Emirates Wildlife Society, spoke about what the Agency hopes to accomplish during their U.S. Mission.  Her remarks stressed the importance of the United States as a model in helping the U.A.E. understand best practices in the management of hazardous materials on national and local levels.

“We are here to gain an understanding of U.S. best practices in waste collection, transportation, treatment and management of hazardous material,” said H.E. Al Mubarak. “We are interested in exploring opportunities for joint collaboration, including research and information sharing. The U.A.E. and U.S. share a similarity in structure of agencies; namely, federal, state and local in the U.S., and federal, emirate and local in U.A.E.  It is that similarity – in addition to the long standing strategic relationship with the U.S. – which made us turn to the U.S. as we evaluate and look to improve our system.”

Left to Right: Deputy Chief of Mission, U.A.E. Embassy, H.E. Omar Al Shamsi, Secretary General Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi And Managing Director of the Emirates Wildlife Society, H.E. Razan Al Mubarak, Commercial Attaché, U.S. Embassy to the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, Gary Rand, and U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council President, Danny Sebright

The visit to the United States by the delegation of officials from U.A.E. led by H.E. Razan Al Mubarak, is part of a larger effort to draft a new national policy on the management of hazardous materials.

The delegation representing 20 different U.A.E. agencies and entities has already travel to France and Europe to learn more about their respective hazardous materials management models.  Their week-long visit to the U.S. will be an opportunity to interact with officials at the federal, state and local level. This will be a chance to explore the U.S. legislative framework and the way various agencies and actors work together.

Following H.E. Al Mubarak’s remarks, the floor was opened for a question and answer session on the U.A.E.’s current operational structures for enforcement, compliance, and federal and state coordination.

Mr. Sebright concluded the luncheon by thanking the speakers, the business community, and U.S. government officials for their participation.

The delegation will continue their tour of the region as part of the U.S.-U.A.E. Hazardous Materials Management Educational Exchange Mission which will take place from April 17-23.

Abu Dhabi Environment Agency

Established in 1996, the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) is committed to protecting and enhancing air quality, groundwater as well as the biodiversity of our desert and marine ecosystem. By partnering with other government entities, the private sector, NGOs and global environmental agencies, we embrace international best practice, innovation and hard work to institute effective policy measures. We seek to raise environmental awareness, facilitate sustainable development and ensure environmental issues remain one of the top priorities of our national agenda.  Since 2008, EAD has been awarded ISO 9001 for Quality, ISO 14001 for Environment, ISO18001 for Health and Safety and ISO 22301 for Business Continuity Management System.

https://www.ead.ae/