After the meeting with Ali bin Towaih, we hightailed it on over to the Executive Towers and rode up to the 37th floor to meet with a member of the Executive Council of Dubai. He said he was no energy expert, but he fielded our questions agreeably and gave us some thought-provoking answers. I – Renee – personally got a lot out of this meeting because he was really candid about some interesting topics. He gave me a lot of food for thought on my topic, which deals with the UAE’s development model – while Ali bin Towaih suggested that the reason for its success was the leadership of the Sheikh, and therefore wasn’t transferable to the other Gulf countries, Walid Tabanji suggested that it also had to do with the UAE’s tolerance for foreigners and moderate foreign policy, coupled with the drive for economic success (“That’s why we’re called Dubai, Inc.,” he said). What surprised me is that afterwards, he volunteered some information about the situation with the migrant laborers – I hadn’t been asking about it because I was under the impression that it was a sensitive subject. He said that basically, the government is really supportive of migrant laborer rights but that the companies often infringe upon them, and that there needs to be better enforcement. Okay, now Alex needs to use the comp before the wireless runs out!–Renee
