HE Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy, stated today that debt restructuring is a normal business response and the decision by Dubai World to tackle its debts is in the right track and proves the transparency of Dubai in addressing the concern.
Al Mansouri said that Dubai economy has scored strategic achievements locally and internationally. “Dubai is an integral part of the United Arab Emirates, the second largest Arab economy,” he said.
On the media response to Dubai World, Al Mansouri said: “We are surprised by this negative campaign on the UAE and Dubai. The city has accomplished a strong track-record of growth that would have taken decades for other countries to achieve”.
Al Mansouri said Dubai World’s debts do not affect the economic performance of Dubai or the UAE and it is a matter of time before the company restructures its debts and honours its commitments as per a scheduled plan.
He explained: “The UAE has already taken concerted efforts to meet the challenges arising from the financial crisis. Several practical steps were initiated include guaranteeing bank deposits for three years and injecting liquidity into the banking system whereby AED 120 billion has been earmarked by the UAE Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance. The Central Bank has also injected money in the UAE banks to address any problems that might emerge from the reaction to Dubai World debts”.
