An unlimited potential

The simple notion of acceptance devoid of guile and artifice is perhaps the biggest parallel that can be drawn between the UAE and Australia. While people from more than 200 nationalities call the UAE home, Australia has embraced more than 270 ethnicities, and you can hear a colourful stream of foreign languages from Mandarin to Maltese being spoken on its streets — testimony to the synergistic fabric of the societies of both nations. “Australia and the UAE are both young countries, so in many ways we are still developing our ties,” says Pablo Kang, Australia’s ambassador to the UAE. “But to actually have such a wide range of ties in a very short period is an achievement, and one that needs to be built on.” And there are many building blocks in place that will further strengthen diplomatic bonds. From celebrating the 20th anniversary of the founding of the University of Wollongong in Dubai, one of Dubai’s oldest private universities, to the landmark Nuclear Cooperation Agreement signed this July, the two countries are well on the road to forging bilateral ties that promise to stand the test of time. But future possibilities notwithstanding, relations are already strong and substantial, Kang points out. With nearly 100 direct flights a week between Australia and the UAE, more than A$6 billion (Dh22.42 billion) in two-way trade in 2011, 16,000 Australians living in the UAE and 45,000 Emirati visitors to Australia last year, things couldn’t be better. Flying high The perfect barometer to judge the health of the relationship lies in the little snapshots of activities, events, treaties and mutual understanding the two governments have undertaken. The most recent endeavour that has been creating headlines is Etihad’s 10 per cent equity buy into Virgin Australia Holdings — a partnership that has gone a long way in improving direct links between Abu Dhabi and Sydney, thus further boosting not only tourism and business but political and cultural ties between the two countries. There is a strong code-share agreement between the two carriers, and since the inaugural flight last year there has been strong growth in the aviation sector. Etihad will commence daily flights to Brisbane early next year (up from three flights per week). Emirates will launch its first A380 service to Melbourne this month, four-times-a-week flights to Adelaide in November, and three daily flights to Perth from February (up from two per day). “As two growing export-oriented economies on the Indian Ocean rim, the aviation and maritime transport networks between our two countries can only be expected to grow,” says Kang. On a lighter note, there is the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November that will feature two Australian drivers — Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo. The same weekend will also see the Australian series V8 Supercars races. Apart from this, Kang is looking forward to hosting a large business and political delegation in early December. “Beyond that, we are currently preparing for our 2013 Australia Day celebration, which occurs in January and is the Embassy’s major public diplomacy event,” he says. A solid framework Other significant initiatives include the Nuclear Cooperation Agreement signed by the respective foreign ministers during Australian Senator Bob Carr’s visit to the UAE in July. The agreement sets the framework for future Australian uranium exports to assist the UAE’s civil nuclear energy programme. Another example is the Al Minhad Air Base in Dubai that hosts the Australian Defence Force’s Middle East headquarters and supports and enables the Australian troop presence in Afghanistan, where they have about 1,550 soldiers. “We would also like to think that the base, which at any given point has 500 to 1,000 Australian soldiers stationed there, has played a strong role in strengthening bilateral defence ties with the UAE, which are managed through the embassy. The base is a testament to our strong mutual interest in regional security matters,” adds Kang. The total merchandise trade between the UAE and Australia was worth nearly A$6.4 million last year. Of this, Australia exported A$2.2 billion to the UAE and imported A$4.1 billion. Australia’s major exports to the UAE include aluminium, passenger motor vehicles (Toyota Camry and Chevrolet Caprice), meat, live animals and wheat. The biggest UAE export to Australia remains crude petroleum. “The UAE is our largest merchandise trade partner in the region by a substantial size, and our 14th-largest overall, with a good year-on-year growth of around 10 per cent,” says Kang. Diverse opportunities Apart from trade, the emirates has emerged as an important market for Australian services. Traditionally the construction, engineering and design sectors have enjoyed the strongest Australian presence, but today, Kang points out, you will find Australians active across the broad scope of UAE industries, including finance, law, media and health services. “In general, these companies are performing well and there is on-going Australian commercial interest in the opportunities provided by the UAE market, which is showing good signs of rebounding well from the global economic downturn of a few years ago.” With an estimated 16,000 Australian expats in the UAE, of which about 9,000 live in Dubai and 6,000 in Abu Dhabi, the economy is just one of the factors that bring these people halfway across the world. “There are a lot of different reasons why Australians move to the UAE,” says Kang. “The quality of life, the warm weather, the numerous professional opportunities, including low levels of taxation, the quality schooling on offer and the convenience of being able to travel to just about anywhere are some of them.” Another big draw that sees passports getting stamped both ways is tourism. More than 40,000 Australians visited the UAE last year and about 45,000 Emirati tourists visited Australia. “We hope the on-going expansion of aviation links between the two countries will increase this number,” says Kang. And while the Gold Coast remains the all-time favourite destination for Emiratis, Kang says he wishes that Emiratis would broaden their horizons and experience the other many and beautiful parts of Australia as well, including the Great Barrier Reef, Sydney Harbour, Melbourne’s arts and restaurant scene and the natural beauty of Perth or Uluru, the largest rock in the world, located right in the middle of the country.