Business with UAE will continue as usual

Dubai: Bilal B. Sabouni, CEO of American Business Council Dubai and the Northern Emirates, said uncertainties stemming from this year’s US election will not necessarily hurt the solid business relationship with the UAE, noting that Americans are valued abroad for their work ethic and business acumen.

“Honestly, I think business is business. The best American companies and managers overseas understand relationships and know what they need to do to strive,” he said. “US businesses have never relied solely on an American president to compete.”

The American business community highly values its growing trade with the UAE, Sabouni said, noting that the value of goods (excluding services) exported from the US to the UAE amounted to nearly $22.9 billion in 2015.

Sabouni said the UAE continues to be the US’s single-largest export market for goods and produce in the Middle East for the sixth year in a row.

The US is the single largest source of foreign direct investment in the UAE, he added.