EFTA Document EFTA01797959

From: Sent: Tuesday, February 8, 2011 4:27 PM To: Jeffrey Epstein Subject: Offset program meeting event in Washington dc Offset Program Bureau holds event in Washington to discuss new policy and en=age with business executives from U.S. companies posted on 07/11/2010 Washington, D.C. - Under the patronage of Yousef Al Otaiba, UAE Ambassador t= the USA, the UAE Embassy hosted a presentation, discussion, and dinner wit= a delegation from the Offset Program Bureau (OPB) of the United Arab Emira=es (UAE), led by Saif Al Hajeri, the CEO. Executives from US companies with=current and potential offset obligations in the UAE and who have interests i= defence contracting, technology transfer, and training opportunities in th= UAE attended the meeting. Ambassador Al Otaiba, and Commercial Counsellor Saud Al Nowais welcomed the g=oup and provided opening remarks. In his remarks Al Otaiba stated: "Since i=s establishment in 1992, the UAE Offset Program has been contributing vehem=ntly in generating huge economic and commercial value for the UAE and sever=l successful and unique joint projects - mostly with US companies - had bee= set up under the umbrella of the UAE Offset Program". Al Hajeri then addressed the audience and emphasised the new policy's focus o= flexibility, ease of project implementation and more involvement by defenc= contractors in the UAE. "If I was asked to identify the single most important characteristic of the n=w policy, I would say without hesitation its flexibility," said Al Hajeri. ="Under the new policy," he continued, "the defence contractors have more fle=ibility in selecting the right mix of credit contribution with the adoption=of a hybrid input and output model that enables defence contractors to util=se their existing strength and initial contributions." This past June, the O=B announced in Paris an overhaul in its policy, involving more contribution=by defence contractors to the domestic economy with the aim of supporting s=stainable growth. Al Hajeri also mentioned that the offset policy was aligned with the governm=nt's long-term economic vision and "ambitious strategic" plans for comprehe=sive and sustainable economic and social development that entails "more foc=sed efforts towards diversified and knowledge-driven economy, industrial pa=tnerships, capacity building, technology and knowledge transfer and creatio= of jobs for the UAE citizens". He also praised the growing cooperation between the United States and the Un=ted Arab Emirates in all domains. "I believe we have a historic opportunity=to promote and broaden our strategic partnership by accelerating our commer=ial cooperation, joint investments and exchange of technology, expertise an= best practices." The delegation presented an overview of the new policy an= followed the presentations by a detailed Q'&'A panel discussion. The panel=clarified various issues and concerns as well as highlighted their intent t= focus on and invest in skilled and dedicated people, leading-edge science a=d technology and, above all, a healthy, sustainable, and efficient industri=l base, capable of delivering the national goals. The OPB delegation also visited the Association of the United States Army's (=USA) Annual Meeting '&1 Exposition. This visit to the US comes after the National Defence Industrial Association=(NDIA) and the US-UAE Business Council's "Aerospace'&1 Defence Trade Missi=n to the UAE," which was supported by the UAE Embassy TradeTe Commercial O=fice and the US Embassy's Commercial Service in Abu Dhabi took place earlie= this month. The trade mission's program included briefings and site visits=with various stakeholders in the UAE. Emirates News Agency, WAM Sent from my iPhone=?xml version=.0" encoding=TF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/Propertylist-1.O.dtd"> <plist version=.0"> alict> <key>date-last-viewed</key> EFTA_R1_00135454 EFTA01797959 <I nteger>0</integer> <key>date-received</key> <integer>1297192648</integer> <key>flags</key> <integer>8590195713</integer> <key>gmail-label-ids</key> <array> <integer>22</integer> <integer>2</integer> </array> <key>remote-id</key> <string>1338004string> </dict> </plist> 2 EFTA_R1_00135455 EFTA01797960