Dubai Ports World

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DP World is a company owned by the government of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

In March 2006, it purchased the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) of the United Kingdom, which was then the fourth largest ports operator in the world, for £3.9 billion ($7 billion), beating a bid from Singapore's PSA International of £3.5 billion. P&O is one of the most famous names in British business, having been the largest shipping operator in the world at one time. DP World has promised to keep P&O's headquarters in London.

DP Terminals was founded in 1999 and DP World was created by a merger between the Dubai Ports Authority (DPA) and an international business, DPI Terminals.

Contents

1 Port security controversy
2 Gwadar Port
3 External links
4 References

Port security controversy

P&O operated major U.S. port facilities in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans, and Miami. After the deal was secured, the arrangement was reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States headed by the U.S. Treasury Department and including the Departments of State, Commerce, and Homeland Security. It was given the green light, but soon after, both Democratic and Republican members of Congress expressed concern over the potential negative impact the deal would have on port security. They cited the 9/11 Commission report, which stated that two of the 9/11 hijackers were UAE nationals, and reports that the UAE was a major financial base for the al Qaeda terror network. The country did not fund al Qaeda but money was transferred through UAE's banks without the government knowing what the money was for (due to privacy reasons). Republican leaders Dennis Hastert and Bill Frist, usually working in close synchronization with the office of the President, came out to publicly question the deal. Frist said in a statement, "If the administration cannot delay the process, I plan on introducing legislation to ensure that the deal is placed on hold until this decision gets a more thorough review." [link] Representative Sue Myrick (R-NC) sent a one-sentence letter to the president that read, "Dear Mr. President: In regards to selling American ports to the United Arab Emirates, not just NO — but HELL NO!" [link]

On February 22, 2006, President George W. Bush threatened to veto any legislation passed by Congress to block the deal, which would be the first time in his presidency he would exercise the privilege. In a statement to reporters, Bush claimed, "It would send a terrible signal to friends and allies not to let this transaction go through." [link] The reason George Bush calls DP World friends is due to its America Friendly stance. DP World allows American Warships in the Gulf to dock in their ports and re-supplies the ships with oil, food and other goods for free. Crew members are allowed short leave in the country and entertain themselves in malls and movie theaters.

The controversy has created a public and unusually high-profile dispute within the Republican Party, and between the Republican-controlled Congress and the Republican-controlled White House.

The debate has curiously divided the opposing sides into mixed camps, with the New York Times, Lindsey Graham, The New Republic, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, Laura Ingraham, Bill Frist, Chuck Schumer, Hillary Clinton, Robert Menendez, Frank Lautenberg, John Gibson, Jon Corzine, the New York Post, and Peter King opposing it, while the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly supporting it.

On February 23, 2006, DP World volunteered to postpone its takeover of significant operations at the seaports to give the White House more time to convince lawmakers and the public that the deal poses no increased risks from terrorism.

DP World said on 2006-03-09 that it would transfer its operations of American ports to a "U.S. entity" after congressional leaders reportedly told President Bush that the firm's takeover deal was essentially dead on Capitol Hill.[link] According to a report on June 19 2006, however, Dubai Ports World still owned and controlled operations at 22 U.S. ports. [link]

Gwadar Port

Chairman of Dubai Ports World, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, who met President Pervez Musharraf on May 5 2006, expressed a strong hope for management of facilities at the strategic Gwadar deep sea port and development of infrastructure in the southern port city and elsewhere in Pakistan.

External links

References

[Reuters: Facts about Dubai Ports World]

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