The special relationship between Dundee and Dubai and a leading role played by the Al-Maktoum Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies were highlighted at a special meeting in the city today (Tuesday.)
Acting Principal, Professor Malory Nye told a Business Breakfast hosted by the Institute and Dundee City Council’s Economic Development Department, “This Sister City event highlights the on-going, strong twinning relationship between Dundee and Dubai that strives to ensure that the local economies can benefit from the economic links between the two cities.
“We are very pleased to be hosting in Dundee today Mr Navin Kapoor, a leading businessman from Dubai, who has been speaking on the UAE economy and government strategy until 2010. While the Institute is very much a research-led higher educational institution it has been at the forefront of building progressive links between the United Arab Emirates and Scotland, and will continue to do so. During the Institute’s six-year history on Tayside, the Sister City agreement between Dundee and Dubai, direct daily flights between Dubai and Glasgow with Emirates Airlines and the creation of the Al-Maktoum Awards for Multicultural Scotland are only some of the key achievements. We are in a positive position to be an effective gateway to strengthen economic, educational and other links between the two. In a couple of months time, for example, we will be welcoming a group of female students from the UAE for a summer school and a significant part of the programme will be to help them learn more about Scotland, its history, its culture, its rich heritage and its people. UAE students, such as the group of 25 females earmarked for leadership who visited earlier this year, were very impressed by Dundee and Scotland and all indicated they would be urging their families to visit. In this way we are, in effect, boosting tourism so we can have similar impact on businesses seeking to work with UAE companies and the public sector. Also, our course development is continuing and this, we hope, will persuade more students from here in Scotland, the UK as a whole and, of course, from overseas to come to Dundee to study.”
Professor Nye was speaking at an event addressed by Mr Navin Kapoor, Honorary Secretary of the Indian Business and Professional Council in Dubai, Chairman of Crystal Gallery LLC, and non-executive Committee Member of the Dubai Quality Group.
Mr Kapoor focused on the UAE economy over the next six or seven years and outlined some of the economic strategies that were being introduced.
