Khalaf Al Habtoor meets the Australian Ambassador

Khalaf Al Habtoor, the Chairman of the Al Habtoor Group, held a business meeting with the Australian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Doug Trappett, in Dubai on October 4, 2011.

Mr. Trappett represents the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dubai and prior to his appointment he was the Director of the Thailand and Philippines Foreign Affairs and Trade division.

His Excellency Doug Trappett, was eager to meet Mr Al Habtoor after readings some of his recent articles in the local newspapers.

The two men talked about the political situation in the region at length and discussed the ‘Arab Spring’ and in particular in Egypt and Syria.

Mr Khalaf Al Habtoor commented: “In the UAE we are blessed to have Sheikhdoms not republics. We pray for God to protect our nation. We have a governmental system that works well and we don’t want to change it because we enjoy an exceptional level of freedom, stability and security.”

“However, I am hesitant to celebrate yet in countries affected by the ‘Arab Spring’ such as Egypt, were chaos seems to have taken over. I pray too that God will give strength to the people of Syria who are currently fighting for their freedom and their basic rights.”

Mr. Trappett invited Mr. Al Habtoor to invest in Australia. In 2007, the Al Habtoor Group’s construction branch merged with Leighton Holding and formed the Al Habtoor Leighton Group, which is now one of the biggest construction companies in the Middle East.