Stability cornerstone of Mohammad's agenda

The UAE and Syria have great potential to further develop their economic relations.

There are more than 400 000 Syrian emigrants living in the UAE and the visit of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to Damascus (which began yesterday evening), will try to build on the success of the relations achieved in the past five years between the two countries.

Abdul Nour said Shaikh Mohammad is probably the only leader in the Arab world who could explain to Syria the benefits of resolving certain issues for enhancing stability in the region instead of tension, including the election of a new president in Lebanon in accordance with the Arab initiative backed by the members of the League of Arab Countries.

"I think the signal is: even if the decision required is not popular with the interests and the ideological principles, stability that allows more development is better anyway," he said.

The UAE's two giant corporations, Emaar and Al Qudra, are already working in Syria. Dubai World, which has operations in 24 countries around the world, can also help Syria to develop its ports. The UAE can do a lot for Syria and the visit of Shaikh Mohammad will have positive impact on the relations of the two countries.