The Diplomat
The Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Raquel Sánchez, concluded yesterday her two-day official visit to the United Arab Emirates, during which she highlighted Spain’s experience in railways and urban development and signed a Memorandum of Understanding on maritime rescue.
During the first day, which took place on Sunday, Sánchez visited the Spain Pavilion of the Dubai 2020 Expo and inaugurated the presentation of the Global Mobility Call, the first global event on sustainable mobility to be held next June in Madrid. During the event, which was attended by business and institutional leaders gathered on the occasion of the inauguration of Travel and Connectivity Week at the Dubai Expo, the Minister highlighted Spain’s leadership in connectivity and her Department’s promotion of a new concept of mobility based on three aspects: digitization and technological progress, connectivity with the world and multimodal connectivity.
Sánchez also signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Society for Rescue and Maritime Safety (Sasemar) and the Dubai Police Services, which establishes a framework of cooperation for the exchange of experiences in the field of training for rescue and salvage, according to international standards. The day concluded with a meeting with the Chairman of DP World, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, and a lunch with various Spanish businessmen, organized with the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce.
Yesterday, the Minister met with the CEO of Etihan Rail, Shadi Malak, to whom she conveyed Spain’s strengths in terms of investment and development of railway infrastructure (second country in the world with more kilometers of high-speed rail) and expressed the interest of Spanish companies, both public and private, in the opportunities offered by the UAE railway market and the new infrastructure and plans. For his part, Shadi Malak expressed his interest in learning more about the Spanish experience, both from the point of view of operations management and infrastructure development. For this reason, the Minister invited her representatives to learn about the operation and development model of different Spanish public and private companies.
Later, Sánchez held a meeting with the president of Abu Dhabi Municipalities and Transport, Falah Al Ahbabi, to whom she shared Spanish experiences in the field of urban agenda and housing, smart cities and sustainable transport, and offered the experience of Spanish companies in consulting, technical and financial feasibility, technological solutions and digital administration.
