Dubai and Los Angeles could become twin cities

Dubai could be twinned with the American city of Los Angeles following recent talks between officials, it has been revealed.

A high profile delegation from Dubai Chamber of Commerce met with their LA counterparts to discuss the twinning of the two cities as well strengthening business ties and promoting investments in the emirate.

“Our visit to Los Angeles gave us an opportunity to strengthen bilateral ties with the most economically active state in America and to share information between both sides especially with the policy advocacy process and organising events on a grand scale,” said Hamad Buamim, director-general of Dubai Chamber.

“We are also looking forward to enhancing cooperation and expanding business opportunities between both cities and to adopt their technology and strategies which will come in handy while serving our members in Dubai.”

Buamim and the Dubai delegation met top officials from the US Department of Commerce, as well as representatives from chambers in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. They also met with the organisers of the world’s largest consumer electronic show held in Las Vegas to discuss the possibility of arranging a sister event in Dubai.

Buamim said the US was the UAE’s third biggest trading partner, with 1,034 American partnership companies, including 102 US-owned firms, currently operating in Dubai.

A recent study by Dubai Chamber revealed that total US imports from the UAE for the first nine months of 2009 were worth $1.3bn – an increase of 24 percent from the previous year’s total of $1bn.

The increase was due to a spike in US petrol imports in July from an average monthly value of $100m to a record $360m, the report said.

Petrol accounted for 58 percent of US imports from the UAE during the first nine months of last year, up from 21 percent from 2008 levels.