Dubai is a bridge between the east and west: David Lammy

Dubai is now one of the world’s great intersecting cities, where talent keeps coming from all over the globe, according to David Lammy, Shadow British Foreign Secretary.

Speaking to Gulf News, Lammy, who has been a member of House of Commons in the UK Parliament since 2000, said, “There is tremendous diversity in Dubai and people see this as a great world city. Unlike London and New York, Dubai is uniquely poised as a bridge between the east and west.”

Commenting on the fallout of Brexit, the Labour MP who has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs since 2021 in the Shadow Cabinet of Keir Starmer, noted that UK needs to have a close and candid debate with its friends and allies.

“Reckless choices have left Britain increasingly disconnected even from its closest allies. It is important that a country like the UK — the 6th richest economy in the world and one that sits on the United Nations Security Council — reaches out to the world. Yes, we are not going back to the EU but we are very much part of Europe,” Lammy remarked.

Attending to old friendships

Once Labour is elected to power, which the Shadow Foreign Secretary says is inevitable, there will be a pressing need to attend to old friendships. “We have not attended to old friendships the way we should have. A change looks sure and I hope we can closely attend to important ties like those with the UAE.”

Noting that his government is pledged to restore development aid spending, Lammy is keen to re-establish UK’s foreign aid to previous levels.

“I am hugely proud of the work that Tony Blair and Gordon Brown (both former Prime Ministers are from Labour) did in the area of global aid. We need to understand that our world is interdependent and we have a huge responsibility to alleviate poverty. The push from the UN to get countries to pledge at least 0.7% of their budget to development fits into the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — an urgent call for action in a global partnership that includes lifting young people around the world out of poverty.”

The British leader stressed on the pressing need to fix the ongoing climate crisis. “Climate leads to a global crisis and migration. The UK needs to reconnect with the world on the major issue of climate action, strengthening our commitment to the green prosperity plan. Global water scarcity, intense heat and a host of attendant issues mean that our race to Net Zero should be priority. The UK, UAE and other nations are doubling down on renewables. Among other areas, we deeply value our partnership with UAE in managing the climate crisis.”