Dubai: Michael B. Hancock wants more people from the UAE to come visit the Mile High City, a city known as much for it mountainous terrain as Dubai is for sun and sand.
Hancock, the mayor of Denver, Colorado, and other government officials, businesses and university representatives have been visiting the UAE to find ways to strengthen draw in more tourists, college students, and to find ways to boost trade relations between the city and the Gulf state.
“Our goal is to increase tourism from Dubai and the UAE to Denver and we also have interest in having our folks come to Dubai and the UAE. So that’s mutually beneficial. Two is education — the more we can increase the number of students from the UAE to study in Denver, the better,” he told Gulf News in an interview in Dubai on Wednesday.
The delegation’s other objectives is to strengthen air links, with non-stop flights between Denver and Dubai, and develop business-to-business relationships.
“It does help to have non-stop flights. The more efficient and affordable you can make it for folks to visit, the better. If you’ve never been there, you’re not very likely to go there to study … for us to hear about the number of graduates that are here was truly powerful and inspiring because we can leverage that to attract more students,” Hancock said.
Aircraft seat manufacturing is “the largest product coming from Denver into Dubai,” said Paul Washington, Executive Director of the Denver Office of Economic Development, adding that Denver is focusing on how it can work with Dubai to establish innovation centres.
“One of the areas that we are focused on is how we can work together to establish innovation centres, where Dubai investors could perhaps invest in accelerators and innovation centres in Denver … and then use that model in Dubai. We are trying to establish an MoU [memorandum of understanding] with the Emirati government on an innovation centre concept … a place where companies can lease space in varying sizes depending on the growth of their business. We’d love to establish an MoU between an accelerator that’s successful in Denver and bring that concept to Dubai to help spur small companies,” he said.
The delegation was also in Abu Dhabi earlier this week.
“In Abu Dhabi, we were establishing government to government relationships. I met with department of commerce and thinking how the governments can work together to establish direct trade,” Washington said.
Hancock said he wasn’t concerned about the effects of the upcoming US presidential election on trade, because he expects the Democrats to win the White House.
“We expect that it will be Hillary Clinton … I don’t think there’s a more capable and well prepared candidate to be the President of the United States because of her role as Secretary of State. I think Hillary knows the global political arena as well as the global market place. So I think that you’ll see a bold, progressive agenda that continues to bridge the gaps of understanding and opportunity.”
The trade delegation will be in the UAE until Thursday.
