UAE shows interest in Nicaraguan canal project

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The UAE is interested in participating in a project to build a canal across Nicaragua linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the Gulf state's foreign minister said Tuesday.

"We are looking for various means of cooperation" and "of being part of the initiative to unite two oceans with a canal," said Prince Abdullah Zayed Al Nayan after meeting with President Daniel Ortega late Monday.

Ortega made a detailed presentation to the UAE delegation about the potential for outside investment in energy, ports and infrastructure, including the canal project, which China and Venezuela have expressed interest in.

"I am here with a team who has been well chosen and that represents the government and the private sector, many of them from very important firms," Zayed Al Nayan said.

"I think they are going to be very interested in reviewing this proposal" for an inter-oceanic canal, he said.

He said that "if the studies are positive, we will be able find many partners" to push it foward.

The idea of building a canal across Nicaragua dates from the mid-19th century, but was overtaken by the construction of the Panama Canal.

In recent years, however, Nicaraguan governments have revived the concept as a way to promote development of the country, the second poorest in the western hemisphere after Haiti.

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READERS' COMMENTS

A Deal with the Devil
Posted by Anonymous, Dubai on Wednesday 7 October 2009 at 06:41 UAE time

Nicaragua is in the poor state it is in mainly because of Daniel Ortega's policies. Any money put towards such a project will be money down a drain. The canal would never happen.

If the UAE is serious about such an investment the UAE should pick up the phone and talk to Martinelli, the newly elected President of Panama. He is a pro-business President and self-made millionaire, a man with a good reputation. Working with Martinelli and investing in the Panama Canal Expansion, the Panama Metro (in the early planning stages) or other Panamanian investments would all be better investment options than working with Ortega.

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