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Abu Dhabi: US president George W. Bush will arrive in Abu Dhabi on Sunday on an official visit to the UAE as part of his broader tour of the Middle East.
President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan will hold talks with the US President on issues of cooperation and friendship between the UAE and the US and the situation in the region. He will also meet a number of senior UAE officials. Bush will also deliver a speech at the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR).
The US President will meet members of the us-uae Business Council, which is a collaboration of leading companies based in the US and the UAE. Bush will also tour Saadiyat Island, a signature development in Abu Dhabi, which will host a number of global architectural landmarks, including arts museums and centres for art and culture.
Warm welcome
The US President will tour the Masdar Initiative, where he would be briefed about the multi-billion dollar initiative to develop and commercialise renewable and alternative energy.
Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister, welcomed the US President's visit. "We warmly welcome the US President to the UAE. This is the first visit of a sitting US President to the country," he said, and praised the existing political, economic, military and cultural ties between the UAE and the US. He said the UAE is Washington's biggest economic partner in the Middle East with balance of payment between the two sides exceeding $13 billion in 2006.
The UAE welcome came as Bush wrapped up his mission to Israel and the occupied West Bank yesterday, arriving in Kuwait to rally the support of Arab allies against what he calls the Iranian "threat".
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