By Federico Maccioni
DUBAI (Reuters) -The Gulf region is dependent on a strong United States and the whole region wants security so local economies can flourish, the U.S. president’s son, Eric Trump, said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday.
In Dubai as an executive of the president’s family business, the Trump Organization, which launched a new tower in the city in partnership with a luxury real estate developer there, Eric Trump was commenting on the reception of President Donald Trump’s policies in the region.
“Dubai like the entire world thrives on a healthy, safe world, and that’s what President Trump wants,” he said.
Asked how a tariff war set off by the U.S. administration affected the Gulf region, he said the UAE were less exposed to tariffs because of its service-oriented, capital-intensive economy. “They can largely avoid that and I think that’s good for so much of the Gulf.”
The 80-story tower in Dubai, the Gulf’s tourism hub boasting the world’s tallest building and palm-shaped islands, that will host a luxury hotel, premium residential apartments, and two penthouse residences, is being developed by the Trump Organization in partnership with Dubai-based developer Dar Global.
Its official launch comes just weeks before Donald Trump’s trip to the Gulf, when he will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, returning to a region where he had fostered close ties during his first term as president.
An arms package for Saudi Arabia worth well over $100 billion could be announced during the trip, Reuters reported last week citing sources.
The bulk of the Trump Organization’s business is in the United States, but it has significant interests overseas, including in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The Trump Organization said ahead of the president’s inauguration that he would hand over the control of the company to his children, replicating an arrangement from his first term, though it has not dispelled all concerns about potential conflict of interest.
Eric Trump said on Tuesday he would not be part of a business delegation that will travel with Trump during the Gulf visit.
“I won’t be part of it, no … I keep total separation. I want nothing to do with politics or policy,” he said, adding that his father “loves the region” and that “he’s got a lot of friends over here.”
(Reporting by Federico MaccioniEditing by Tomasz Janowski)
