UAE Ambassador in Canada issues statement on UAE-Canada airline negotiations

Ottawa - Oct 11, 2010 (WAM)- In a statement released yesterday by the UAE Embassy in Canada, UAE ambassador Mohammed Abdullah Al-Ghafli said in reference to UAE-Canadian airline negotiations: "The UAE is disappointed that despite intensive negotiations over the last five years the UAE and Canada have been unable to arrive at an agreement on expanding the number of flights between the two countries. It is unfortunate that this process has been so protracted and frustrating. The UAE entered negotiations in good faith on the understanding that a solution would be reached and that constructive ideas would be brought to the negotiating table. The fact that this has not come about undoubtedly affects the bilateral relationship.
With 27,000 Canadians living in the UAE, and a significant trade relationship (the UAE is Canada's largest trade partner in the Middle East and North Africa with bilateral trade figures of over 1.5 billion dollars of which 95 per cent is Canadian exports) as well as 200 Canadian companies active in the UAE today, six flights per week does not service the economic needs of both countries or the potential for growth.
The UAE continues to support the development and growth of international trade ties across all sectors, with our partners and friends around the world, in the belief that such ties are the basis for strong strategic relations." – Emirates News Agency, WAM