Dubai: Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Dubai Police Chief and Head of the Government’s Budget Committee, says he expects a surge in Iranian investment into the UAE as a result of the international economic sanctions imposed on Iran.
Lt Gen Dahi said he was also confident that Dubai had the means to ensure Iranian investors would operate within the parameters set down by the United Nations Security Council. The Dubai Police chief dismissed fears that Iran might take advantage of the opportunity to do business in the UAE, as a means to escape the UN’s economic sanctions.
He told Gulf News that Dubai was confident – from a security point of view – that Iranian investments in the UAE would not be used as a way to escape the sanctions. Instead the investments would help Iranian people overcome difficulties associated with sanctions on banks and trading with Iran, he said.
Lt Gen Dahi spoke at the end of a traditional Ramadan gathering at his majlis in Dubai over the weekend.
The regular gathering hosts businessmen and economic experts from the UAE and Saudi Arabia to discuss ways to minimise the impact of the global economic recession on Gulf economies, and speed up the region’s business recovery.
Lt Gen DAhi said while the UAE, and Dubai in particular, would strictly enforce the sanctions imposed on Iran by the UN, it would not respect any kind of unilateral sanctions against the neighbouring nation, he said. "We consider unilateral sanctions as illegal," he stressed.
"Our stand is so clear and thus Dubai will not enforce any kind of unilateral sanction under any circumstance."
The police chief said Iranian investments were not new to Dubai or the UAE.
“Iranian businessmen from the neighbouring country have been investing in Dubai for ages, but this time the need is there to expand the existing business channels between Dubai and Iran to meet the increase in demand,” he said.
Lt Gen Dahi called on the emirates’ economic development authorities to encourage Iranian businesses in the UAE, saying Dubai offered the ideal platform for Iranian investors to trade with, and stay connected to, the rest of the world.
