People-to-people bonds are expanding

While energy and security issues play a critical role in the U.S.-UAE relationship, and while trade and investment have become powerful factors in creating a strong commercial relationship, cultural and social interaction between Americans and Emiratis may be the most important component of the growing relationship between the two countries.

Ties between Americans and Emiratis at the people-to-people level are expanding, and this should come as no surprise. The UAE has always sought the best knowledge, products and services the world has to offer, and Americans are captivated by the entrepreneurial spirit yet traditional social morays of the Emirates.

Both societies are tolerant and open to the world. Both are home to peoples of many religions, ethnicities and backgrounds. Both are federations that unite individual “States” under one flag. And in both countries, strong emphasis is placed on empowering the individual to meet the challenges of the future.

Civil society in the UAE is among the most developed in the Middle East, resulting in a high quality of life for foreign nationals living there. There is widespread appreciation for U.S. culture and, as a result, there are more American civil society institutions in the UAE than there are anywhere else in the Arab world.

This natural affinity has led to linkages between the two nations’ civil societies that are “below the radar” of official bilateral relations. Today, more than 20,000 Americans live and work in the UAE. Over 700 U.S. companies have offices in one or more of the Emirates. The UAE sent more visitors to the United States in 2006 than any other Arab country – even though the UAE is one of the smallest Arab countries in population. And according to the UAE Embassy in Washington, there are more Emiratis studying on American college campuses today than there were before September 11, 2001.

The American Business Council of Dubai and the American Business Group in Abu Dhabi were among the very first foreign business entities registered in the UAE. The Emirates also boasts the American Women’s Association and the American Hospital in Dubai. In addition, the UAE is home to such pro-American institutions as the Rotary Club of Dubai.

The Emirates have looked to U.S. leadership in a number of critical areas, such as

education. Five emirates high schools and two of its universities offer an “American curriculum” to prepare their students for further study in the United States.

The American University in Dubai (AUD), established in 1995, offers undergraduate and graduate programs in engineering, business, information technology, liberal arts and English language. Located just a few minutes from the commercial center of Dubai, AUD has proven popular with both Emiratis and students from surrounding countries.

The American University of Sharjah (AUS) was founded in 1997 by H.H. Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah and a Member of the UAE Supreme Council. AUS is independent, non-profit and coeducational, and it seeks to attract students from the Emirates and throughout the region. All told, AUS offers 21 bachelors and 8 masters degrees.

In the medical arena, the Johns Hopkins Medical School began managing health care systems in Abu Dhabi as part of an agreement reached in 2006, including the 469-bed Tawam Hospital. Faculty from Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health are advising the UAE on public health issues and helping to establish a public health doctoral program in the Emirates.

The Harvard Medical School Dubai Center (HMSDC) Institute for Postgraduate Education and Research was established in 2004 to foster the professional development of physicians, nurses, research scientists, and allied health professionals in the Gulf region. HMSDC is a joint project of Harvard and the Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC). By this fall, HMSDC will have its own state-of-the-art facility that will include teaching space and case study rooms, an auditorium, and the Maktoum-Harvard Medical Library.

In 2006, the Cleveland Clinic and Mubadala Development of Abu Dhabi signed an agreement to establish a preeminent world-class hospital in that emirate to be known as Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. Under the terms of the 15-year agreement, the Cleveland Clinic will establish, develop, and operate a world-class specialty hospital and clinic in Abu Dhabi, using the Cleveland Clinic systems, procedures, guidelines and standards.

Additional cultural and educational partnerships with American institutions are expected in the near future as the UAE as the people-to-people bonds between the Emirates and the United States grow stronger with every passing year.