By Wendy Anders

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will donate $10 million (more than ₡5.5 billion colones) for the repair and restoration of aqueducts in communities destroyed by the passage of Hurricane Otto, said the Costa Rican government.

This was one of the main tangible outcomes of a recent official Costa Rican delegation, the country’s first, to the Middle East.

In addition to this vital assistance, Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis Rivera also managed to attract investors’ interest in important and strategic projects of national interest which will be discussed during a UAE delegation preparing to visit Costa Rica later this year, said the government press office.

For example, there is interest in possible investment in the San José – San Ramón highway project. This visit was the start to the diversification of bilateral relations in a number of areas from cooperation on development issues, to investment, tourism, energy and infrastructure, said the government.

In terms of investment, opening of markets, and promotion of exports, working sessions were held with the Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the cities of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah, as well as with the World Association of Free Zones and the Investment Council of Abu Dhabi, said the Solís government.

The United Arab Emirates has a population of 10 million people, a per capita income of $ 68 thousand in 2016 (according to the International Monetary Fund), and is visited by more than 15 million tourists annually.