OREGON, 26th April, 2017 (WAM) -- Abdulla Alsaboosi, UAE Consul General in Los Angeles, has met with a number of government officials and entrepreneurs in the US state of Oregon to discuss ways to develop and strengthen economic relations between the UAE and the United States.

Alsaboosi's visit to the State of Oregon included a tour of the city of Salem, Beaverton, Corvallis and Portland, as part of strengthening relations between the two states, providing insight on the shared common values between the friendly countries, and the role of the UAE as a major economic and political partner in the region.

The Consul General met with the Governor of Oregon, Kate Brown, where they exchanged views on relations between the UAE and the state and discussed future cooperation opportunities. Alsaboosi also extended an invitation to the Governor to visit the UAE.

The UAE is the largest trading partner of the United States in the Middle East, with trade between the two countries reaching US$25.73 billion in 2016, placing the country, for the eighth consecutive year, as the first export front of the United States in the entire region.

Over the past five years, US exports to the UAE have increased by 97 percent to more than US$22 billion in 2015. Oregon exported more than $658.8 million worth of goods, mainly computers, electronics, machinery parts, lasers and optics, to the UAE from 2013 to 2016.

Alsaboosi expressed his enthusiasm for expanding relations with the state and its cities in areas such as technology, innovative technologies, agriculture, trade and education.

Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2017.