largest US trading partner in the Middle East behind Israel and Saudi Arabia. The proposed trade deal is part of a broader US effort to craft a regional free-trade zone in the Middle East by 2013. The United States already has free-trade pacts with Israel, Jordan, Morocco and Bahrain. Congress is expected to vote this year on an agreement with UAE s neighbor, Oman. Sheikha Lubna said her country respected the US security concerns and did not consider the collapse of the Dubai Ports World deal a setback for trade talks. What s important to understand is that Dubai Ports World is a case that got politicized, she said. It really doesn't t touch the free trade agreement. She said the United Arab Emirates, a regional trading hub, understood the security concerns raised in the United States, which have also triggered a delay in another takeover bid by a Dubai-owned firm.
