Red letter day in UAE-Iran ties

The landmark visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the UAE can, and should, open a new page in the relations between the two countries.

The visit comes at a trying time in the region. Iran's nuclear issue could explode any time with the United States making its intentions clear that it will do everything in its power, including military force, to stop the Islamic republic's controversial programme.

However, the UAE-Iran ties, although historic and strong, have had their lows due to the continuous Iranian occupation of the three Emirati islands. The UAE has done all it can to solve the dispute. UAE leaders repeatedly called on Iran to either get into direct talks or accept international adjudication. Iran continues to refuse both offers.

The bilateral ties are vital to both countries. That shows in the exceptional reception the Iranian president got at the airport yesterday. President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, were at the airport along with a number of senior officials to greet the visiting leader.

The UAE is also Iran's biggest trading partner and Iranian non-oil imports from the UAE amounted to $7.67 billion in the Iranian year to March 2006, some 20 per cent of its total.

Also, the UAE has always shown its keenness to strengthen relations with its Muslim neighbour and refused to join the US-led efforts to isolate Tehran. In a March interview, Shaikh Khalifa said the UAE would never allow its territory to be used for "hostile activities" against Iran.

Therefore, it is incumbent upon Ahmadinejad, the first Iranian head of state to come here in the UAE's history, to use the occasion to open a new chapter in our relations. And a genuine effort to address the islands issue would be a good beginning.