Australia and the UAE share warm and growing relations. Traditionally based on trade and cooperation, bilateral ties have translated into an increasingly important political relationship in recent years.
"Australia and the UAE could be said to share a strategic partnership. Relations have traditionally been based on extensive trade relations and people-to-people contacts, but in recent years the political relationship has become increasingly important.
"We share similar perspectives, exchange views regularly and cooperate closely on a growing range of important regional and global issues," says Jeremy Bruer, Australian Ambassador to the UAE.
"Australian representation in the UAE has been maintained since 1979 and in the past 12 months, the number of staff at the Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate-General in Dubai has grown substantially, reflecting the increasing depth and breadth of government-to-government relations.
With three Australian state government offices in Dubai, and one (Queensland) opening in Abu Dhabi, the level of official Australian representation in the UAE is very substantial indeed."
In addition, AusBG, the Australian Business Group in Abu Dhabi, and ABIG, Australian Business in the Gulf Group based in Dubai, have witnessed a sharp increase in the number of members over the last few years.
High-profile visits
High-profile visits have enhanced cooperation between the two countries over the last year, says Bruer. The Australian Prime Minister visited the UAE twice last year. The Governor-General and Foreign Minister also visited.
Several visits to the UAE were also made by successive Australian ministers for defence and trade, as well as state premiers (including two by the premier of Queensland), governors of Victoria and New South Wales and numerous state government ministers.
His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, and Shaikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Planning and Economy, visited Australia during the past year. UAE Minister of Economy Shaikha Lubna Al Qasimi visited the country twice during the year.
"The visits by General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to Australia in 2004 and Prime Minister John Howard to the UAE in 2005 added a new momentum and dimension to our bilateral relations.
"We are seeing new initiatives in a range of government and non-government areas, based on shared perspectives, growing trade and on increasing two-way visitor traffic.
Increasingly, Australia and the UAE are looking to each other as strategic partners. Two-way investment opportunities offer substantial promise and are an increasingly important feature of the bilateral commercial relationship," says Bruer.
Rio Tinto Aluminium (formerly Comalco Australia) is working in partnership with the Abu Dhabi government on a joint venture to operate the world's largest aluminium smelter.
Volgren from Australia recently entered into a joint venture with Emirates Link Group to manufacture buses in Abu Dhabi. Oceanis Australia is managing construction of the largest aquarium tank in the world in Dubai.
The University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) is the oldest institution and has, by far, the highest number of students in the Dubai Knowledge Village.
The UAE is Australia's second-largest trading partner in the Middle East. Australian merchandise exports grew by about 29 per cent in 2005-06. Even more dramatic has been the growth in trade in services, which reached almost $1.4 million in 2005-06.
Trade between the countries totalled A$3.7 billion in 2005. Australia's exports to the UAE that year amounted to A$1.647 billion whereas imports from the UAE were valued at A$663 million. Australian export of services amounted to A$475 million while the UAE's service exports totalled A$908.
While oil makes up more than half the value of exports from the UAE, motor vehicles remain Australia's largest single export item to the Emirates. Australia's other major exports include telecommunication and agricultural goods.
Its major services exports are in the areas of construction, tourism, finance, health and education. The UAE exports crude petroleum, liquefied propane, butane and iron/steel/aluminium structures and major transport and travel-related services to Australia.
Trade has witnessed remarkable growth over the last few years. Australia enjoys a strong commercial presence here, with many Australian firms making the UAE their strategic regional base.
For the UAE, Australia is seen as having a stable political environment, a very strong, low-inflation, open economy, which has been growing strongly for some 15 years, and as an exporter of high-quality primary produce, processed food and manufactured goods.
Australia offers highly developed capabilities in a wide range of service areas, from engineering and architecture to infrastructure and environmental management, from international project finance to health, defence support and education and training.
Being a major regional player, economically and politically, the UAE is important to Australia as a strategic partner on both fronts.
"The UAE is much admired in Australia for its fast-growing economy, young population, low entry barriers, a well-managed banking system, excellent infrastructure and its sophisticated business community familiar with Western practices," says the ambassador.
"Our economies are relatively complementary, making them a good fit for each other. For example, Australia's advanced engineering capability is ideal for the UAE's huge infrastructure programmes, while Australian small and medium-sized enterprises offer world-class services that can be readily adopted in the UAE," says Bruer.
Strong presence
Australian businesses have a strong presence in the UAE through companies such as Multiplex, Cox Group, Maunsell, Clipsal, VHA Global, GHD, Worley, Leightons, Cardno and Macquarie Bank.
More than 300 Australian companies based in the UAE are involved in everything from steel trading, banking, construction, boat-building, dairy farming, health services, oil-field supplies and education services, to livestock and veterinary management.
"Our government encourages long-term partnerships between Australia and the UAE through education. In addition to their positive impact on individual students, educational partnerships also help in enhancing understanding of culture, community and people," he says.
Apart from two new schools with Australian curricula in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, Australia's educational connections with the UAE are extensive and long-standing.
The UOWD has been established since 1991; the Australian Council for Education Research (ACER) in Dubai is a leading provider of educational research and assessment services; Edith Cowan University has been providing Emirates airline with training, particularly in aviation security training; University of Melbourne and Deakin University degrees in education (at bachelor's and master's levels) are available at the higher colleges of technology; and the University of Melbourne and the University of Adelaide manage the faculties of medicine, pharmacy and dentistry at Sharjah University.
"The growing two-way flow of visitors and the growing number of Emiratis studying in Australia also contribute to the expansion and consolidation of bilateral trade," Bruer says.
The number of visitors to Australia from the UAE has increased at an annual rate of more than 20 per cent in the last decade.
"The UAE is Australia's largest tourism market in the Gulf. The expansion in the number of Emirates airline's services to Australia has been instrumental in promoting the country as a tourism destination, but Australia's natural beauty, excellent facilities and attractions and the warmth of our welcome continue to charm visitors," says Bruer.
Recognising the importance of the UAE market, Tourism Australia has opened an office in Dubai.
The growth in the number of Australians living in the UAE has sharpened the level of interest in each other's cultures.
During the past year, jazz singer Janet Seidel and rock singer Jimmy Barnes visited the UAE, the 'Across Australia' exhibition (featuring 28 quilt artists) was held in Abu Dhabi, the 'Nine Ways of Looking' exhibition was held in Dubai featuring nine Australian photographers, and renowned artist and arts consultant Katherine Brimblecombe-Fox exhibited in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
In 2006 the embassy launched 'Explore Australia' - a multimedia educational resource with a focus on cross-cultural issues, environmental awareness and improving English-language skills - for use in UAE schools.
Other events the embassy supported this year included 'Clean up the World' (initiated in Australia in 1989 as 'Clean up Sydney Harbour') and 'World Water Day', highlighting the two nations' shared concerns about the environment.
