San Francisco & Sacramento, California, U.S.A. — The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council spent the week in Northern California attending, hosting, and participating in a program of events geared towards the promotion of U.S.-U.A.E. economic diplomacy and commercial partnership in the fields of cyber security, travel and tourism, and the broader bilateral trade and investment relationship between the U.S. and the U.A.E.
The trip was anchored by RSA® Conference 2013 (RSA 2013), a global cyber security conference taking place from February 25th-March 1st in San Francisco, California. The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council was joined at the conference by a large delegation of public and private sector Emirati cyber security officials and executives led by the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), and supported by the U.A.E. Embassy in Washington, D.C.
On Tuesday evening, the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council hosted a networking reception on the sidelines of RSA 2013 in honor of the U.A.E. cyber delegation at the Ritz Carlton Hotel featuring keynote remarks by Ms. Jenny Menna, Director of Stakeholder Engagement & Cyber Infrastructure Resilience (SECIR) in the Office of Cyber Security & Communications at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
After an introduction from Sebright and an update on the state of U.S.-U.A.E. trade and commerce from Al Nowais, Ms. Menna took the podium to discuss current U.S.-U.A.E. cyber security partnership and the broader strategic importance of the industry to the maintenance of international and economic security. In her comments, Menna noted the U.S. Administration’s renewed focus towards cultivating stronger private-public partnerships in the field of cyber security and emphasized the importance of relationships with international partners like the U.A.E. for the safety and security of international trade routes and energy exports.
The event attracted government officials and business executives from the U.S. and U.A.E. and provided a unique platform for discussion about the current dynamics of the cyber security industry and its significant functions of safeguarding international commerce, fortifying financial institutions, and protecting critical national infrastructure.
Earlier in the day on February 26th, the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council expanded its economic outreach beyond cyber security with a breakfast panel at the Ritz Carlton Hotel featuring industry executives representing Dubai’s flagship travel and tourism entities, including the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Emirates Airline, and the Jumeirah Group. The panel, chaired by Danny Sebright, president of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, also featured Mr. Saud Al Nowais, Commercial Counselor and Director of the Trade & Commercial Office at the U.A.E. Embassy in Washington, D.C.
On Wednesday, February 27th, officials from the U.A.E. Embassy in Washington, D.C. and U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council staff traveled to the Sacramento state house to hold meetings with state government officials, address local high school students interested in international affairs, and to attend a World Affairs Council of Northern California event focused on the U.A.E.
The World Affairs Council of Northern California event, titled ‘Understanding Business and Culture in the Middle East: Focus on the United Arab Emirates’ , featured remarks from Dr. Alsaghira Al Ahbabi, Second Secretary of the Political Department, and Saud Al Nowais, Commercial Counselor for the United Arab Emirates to the U.S. at the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, Washington, D.C.
The commercial, cultural, and economic outreach to Northern California is in support of the U.A.E. Embassy in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi, and the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council’s shared objectives of promoting U.S.-U.A.E. commerce and trade, encourage partnership, and broaden understanding between communities in both countries.
