Emirati students in US set to rise

Within the next year it is expected that the number of Emirati students travelling to the US for higher education will reach the heights of pre-9/11 figures, said US Consul General to the UAE Justin Siberell recently.

Addressing students and faculty at the American University in Dubai (AUD) the newly-appointed Consul General brought his audience up to speed on recent US-UAE relations. He announced that this year the UAE has become the US' leading trade partner in the region.

However, Siberell's main focus was on the importance of university exchange programmes and student linkages.

Post 9/11

Siberell said that post-9/11 the "US government fell down in its visa operations" in respect to issuing visas to students from the Middle East. As a result, he said, students sought education elsewhere, in places such as the UK, Australia and Canada.

"It has become a strategic imperative that we fix this problem and we have worked hard at it," Siberell said.

He added that the US government has worked hard to re-build the "trust and confidence" it had developed with Emirati partners and the families of Emirati students.

Exchange programmes

Siberell said university exchange programmes and student linkages encourage cross-cultural dialogue and understanding. "The US government seeks to expand exchange programmes to encourage more American students to study in Muslim majority countries," and vice-versa.

He said throughout the Obama administration, it is expected that such programmes will continue in order to strengthen bilateral ties and expand partnerships in the areas of education, economic development and science and technology.

Building understanding

Addressing the Americans in the audience he said, post 9/11 within the US a curiosity about the Middle East and Islam sparked a wave of students flowing out of the country into the Arab world to study Arabic, or to spend part or all of their university years in the region.

"You are probably among the first generation that is doing this, so I salute you for it," Siberell said.

He termed the trend a positive one as it will further acquaint students with regional issues, allowing them to take their experiences back and apply them to a lifetime of study and work for the benefit of common understanding between the people of the Middle East and the US.

Siberell gave the example of the many Emiratis who have over the past 30 years sought higher education in the US.

He said: "I can't emphasise enough how important the flow of students has been in building strong US-UAE relations over the years."