New York Style City Center in Dubai

Visited “Old Town” Burj Dubai Lake banked on one side by a residential village indicative of traditional Arabesque motifs. Across the lake you will see the world’s Tallest Building Burj Khalifa (formerly the Burj Dubai), on the lakes other side is the worlds biggest shopping mall (Dubai Mall), who’s attractions include the an aquarium full of all manner of sea fish housed by the world’s largest acrylic viewing panel. In the center of the lake is the world’s most “Awesome” 500ft tall and 850ft long water fountain.

This attraction cost $281 million and is the most technologically advanced fountain of its kind. U-Tube visual effects cannot do this attraction justice. You have to be there and experience the whole program. We then ended up at my favorite Dubai Restaurant The Meat Company. Great Steaks, ribs, and draft beer for a reasonable price, dinner couldn’t be better. Eat outside and enjoy the view, you get a feeling and ambiance like you’re inside the Venetian/Arab looking at real stars but no singing gondoliers.

World Energy Conference, Abu Dhabi

Arrived in terminal 3 in Dubai after my 16hr flight. Computer adm. Movies, food, sleep, makes the flight time seem inconsequential.

MASDAR World Energy Conference:

World’s platform for sustainable future energy solutions, hosted by Masdar. The Masdar Initiative driven by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, is a global cooperative platform for the open engagement in the search for solutions to some of mankind's most pressing issues: energy security, climate change and the development of human expertise in sustainability.

Attendance: more than 140 government delegations from 19 countries, led by Heads of State, Royalty, Prime Ministers and Ministers and over 1,400 CEOs the World Future Energy Summit. Total attendance will exceed 18,000 and 600 exhibits displayed there latest technologies. This was the first significant environmental meeting since Amsterdam. U.S. delegation was not as impressive as I would have expected, one major corporate sponsor was G.E.

New idea’s and concepts: 100’s of exhibitors and various round tables and lectures most focusing on “wind and solar” technologies and new applications for them. Some great advances were noted by the auto industries and unique new water transport vehicles.

My thoughts going away were focused on "commercial opportunities". The U.S. should be more active in marketing and sales here in the Middle East. If we don't "ask for the business" we cannot expect it to come to us. The U.S. needs leverage international opportunities at symposium such as this. We need to take advantage of the strategic foresightedness of a country such as Abu Dhabi who is attempting to lead the world in advances in "sustainable future energy solutions".