United Arab Emirates Company to Sell U.S. Port Interests

Dubai Ports World, the United Arab Emirates firm that bought control of six U.S. ports, said yesterday it will sell its interests in the face of congressional pressure, the Washington Post reported (see GSN, March 6).

“Because of the strong relationship between the United Arab Emirates and the United States and to preserve this relationship, DP World has decided to transfer fully the U.S. operations of P&O Ports North America, Inc. to a United States entity,” said company Chief Operating Officer Edward Bilkey. 

“This decision is based on an understanding that DP World will have time to effect the transfer in an orderly fashion and that DP World will not suffer economic loss,” he added.

The company made the announcement after Republican lawmakers told the White House that the deal would be killed in Congress because of security concerns. Among those concerns were worries that the United Arab Emirates had been complicit in the shipment of WMD components (see GSN, March 3).

President George W. Bush earlier had vowed to veto any bill opposed to the sale.

The White House yesterday reaffirmed the “strong relationship” between the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

“This decision provides a way forward and will allow us to continue working on other issues,” said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

Analysts predicted that the two countries would be able to preserve economic and security ties but that the U.S. image in the Middle East would take a blow. Arab media have portrayed the controversy over the deal as anti-Arab, according to the Post.

“This can only make the already-damaged image worse,” said Youssef Ibrahim, managing director of the Strategic Energy Investment Group. “The problem is, for four or five years, we haven’t found a way to repair that damaged image.”

It is not yet known what company will take control of the ports.

DP World officials have said the company will no longer hold any interest in U.S. ports.

“To me, there’s nothing more to be done,” said Representative Peter King (R-N.Y.).   “The deal is over.”

David Mack, vice president of the Middle East Institute and former U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, said U.S. requests for military help from the country might now be ignored. In the past, it has responded favorably to such calls.

“They’ve been doing such things because they’ve felt they had a special relationship with us. Now, I would expect less eagerness on their part to be as accommodating,” he said (Weisman/Graham, Washington Post, March 10).

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