UAE President calls for perspective over oil prices
Posted:01 December 2008
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In an interview to the Egyptian daily Al Ahram, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan downplayed fears over declining oil prices saying it was nothing the UAE had not experienced before.
“Oil market volatility is no news. We had to deal with it in the past when the prices had gone under what we are witnessing today. We monitor the changes in the oil market and collaborate with our partners in Opec to face up to every setback that may affect the stability of global markets,” he said.
“Concurrently, we make sure we invest oil revenues for our human resource development, our human resources being one of our major assets. Also, we diversify our sources of income through domestic and foreign investments, within the framework of a prudent investment policy that takes into account the element of sustainability.”
He also called for tolerance over the US’s diplomatic stand-off with Iran. Responding to a reporter’s question, if the UAE would seek alternative oil transportation routes if relations between America and Iran soured further, His Highness said “notwithstanding the aim of the issue of having an alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz for transporting oil to the outside world, this question seems to send a message that all peaceful means of solving the issue of Iran’s nuclear programme have been exhausted.
“This notion must not be promoted or created in the minds of people as inevitable. Although we are worried about the escalation of the Iranian nuclear programme crisis, we in the Gulf still have high hope about the success of the international efforts being made by various parties to convince Iran to respond positively to the demand of the international community.”
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