Keynote Address by Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, Chairman, Al Habtoor Group, delivered at the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations’ 24th Annual Arab-US Policymakers’ Conference, “U.S.-Arab Relations at a Crossroads: What Paths Forward?,” on October 15, 2015, in Washington, DC.
The National Council on US-Arab Relations,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon.
I would like to start by thanking the National Council on US-Arab Relations, led by Dr. John Duke Anthony – Founding President and CEO, for inviting me to speak at the ‘24th Annual Arab-US Policymakers’ Conference’. I thank you for having me!
In face of what is happening in our world, there could not have been a more relevant topic to discuss than the topic selected for this year’s conference: ‘the future of the US-Arab relations.’
The relationship between the United States of America and the Arab countries is at a turning point
For decades, the alliance between the US and the Arab countries, mainly the GCC States, has proven to be paramount for regional and global stability, prosperity and peace.
We recognise with gratitude, and cannot deny that we have greatly benefited from your knowledge for decades.
As per the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the volume of trade between the US and the GCC countries is worth hundreds of billions of US dollars every year.
Americans in the United Arab Emirates form one of the largest Western communities in the UAE; around 50,000 US nationals reside in my country.
However, what the previous administrations have done to the Arab world in the last decade, particularly to the Sunni populations, leaves a dark stain on this great nation’s history.