US President arrives in Abu Dhabi

US President George W. Bush arrived in Abu Dhabi on Sunday on a two-day official visit to the UAE as part of his broader tour of the Middle East, official news agency WAM reported.

Bush is the first sitting US president to visit the UAE on his fifth leg of his Middle East tour.

His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, and His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, led a party of top senior officials to welcome the US president upon arrival at the airport.

General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan were also present at the airport.

Soon after arriving at the Mushref Palace, the US president accompanied by Shaikh Khalifa ascended the dais of honour where the national anthems of the UAE and US were played while the artillery fired 21 gun salute.

President Bush then inspected a guard of honour and headed to the palace's main reception lounge where he shook hands with a number of shaikhs, ministers and top UAE officials.

For his part, Shaikh Khalifa shook hands with members of delegation accompanying the US president which included US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten and Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Stephen Hadley.

The UAE president then conferred the Zayed Order on his US counterpart as a gesture of honour and in recognition of the close UAE-US ties of cooperation and friendship.

Growing relations

Later, Shaikh Khalifa hosted a luncheon in honour of President Bush and his accompanying delegation on the occasion of his visit to the UAE. A number of shaikhs, ministers and high-ranking officials attended the banquet.

Shaikh Khalifa and Bush held talks at Al Mushref Palace on ways of boosting bilateral relations in various domains.
Latest developments in the region were also figured high during talks between the two leaders.

Shaikh Khalifa welcomed president Bush, hailing "the growing relations between the two friendly countries in all fields, particularly in political, economic, military and cultural spheres”.

The president reiterated the UAE’s keenness to bolster its distinguished economic partnership with the US, being the major economic partner in the Arabian Gulf region.

Talks also touched on latest developments in regards to the Middle East peace process in light of Bush’s tour of the region and his talks with Palestinian, Israeli and Arab leaders.

The two heads of state also discussed a wide-range of issues pertinent to maintaining security and stability in the Arabian Gulf region, situation in Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan in addition to other topics in regard to fighting terrorism.

“The UAE is a partner in the anti-terror campaign and will exert whatever possible to achieve stability and development in the region and world as well,” Shaikh Khalifa said, highlighting the role of US in maintaining security in the Arabian Gulf region and activating the Middle East peace as per Bush's vision of setting up a viable Palestinian state based on the road map and the Arab Peace Initiative.

For his part, Bush expressed his pleasure at visiting the UAE. He also acknowledged the regional and international position the UAE has gained and economic boom it has achieved which he termed as example to be emulated.

The US president also highlighted the UAE’s role in maintaining regional and international security and peace.

He reiterated significance of the UAE-US relations in all fields, particularly, economic, political and military fields, adding that "the US administration is looking forward to further boost and expand joint cooperation and coordination".