All guests who had been invited from Dubai as well as Abu Dhabi attended the dinner.

In his welcoming speech H.E. Senator Dr. Freytag emphasised the similarities between Hamburg and Dubai with both being international, fast and dynamic cities with major ports. Hamburg is home to the 8th largest port in the world whereas Dubai joins up closely as 12th largest port. Both of their harbours have increasing growth rates against a global tendency of declining rates. His Excellency’s visit to Dubai was meant merely as a first step on a long journey of close and fruitful cooperation between the cities.

The Senator’s table was shared by H.E. the Consul General of Germany, Mr. Saif Sultan Al Shamsi, Mr. Ramez T. Merhej and Mr. Farooq Arjomand.

The initial topics the Senator discussed with his guests were the water supply in the two cities, the public transport system and how to effectively combine the different means of public transport such as buses, Metro and Monorail.

Furthermore the participants exchanged their experiences with the development of both Hamburg and Dubai. It was generally acknowledged that Dubai’s fast-paced development with its outstanding landmarks such as the Burj al Arab and the Emirates Towers puts it into the role of a global leader in urban development.

It was recognised that the impressive development of Dubai and the UAE as a whole was made possible solely by the wisdom and care of its rulers as becomes particularly clear when comparing it to other countries in the region.

Another topic that raised much interest was the rather slow and complicated procedures of issuing visas to UAE nationals wanting to go to Germany for business or leisure. H.E. the Consul General pointed out that this was a problem that needs and in fact is being addressed on a European level.

The majority of conversations was however occupied by business topics, mainly with regards to issues connected to the companies represented by the delegation. The local guests had already been carefully selected so as to match with the delegation’s interests and thus many topics were discussed in depth and quite fruitfully.

More than anything else the duration of the dinner (from 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm) shows the intensity of the exchange of information. At 10.30 pm H.E. Senator Dr. Freytag had to put an end to the dinner as the majority of the delegation was to leave for Oman at 6 am the next morning where they continued their journey.