However, there is little-to-no chance that her intervention would have changed the outcome or made any great difference in swaying US lawmakers on Capitol Hill who were intent on scuttling the DPW deal. As was pointed out before in this column, the Dubai deal became the victim of internal American politics, with the Democrats trying to score power points and Republicans not wanting to be outdone in an important election year.

But Shaikha Lubna’s charm and straightforward demeanour could have presented an image of the Arab world rarely seen in the United States, and one even less imagined. Of late, regrettably the only news coming from the Middle East has been negative: Images of death and destruction in Iraq; political instability in Lebanon; uncertainty in Syria or terror attacks on Saudi oil installations.

Whenever the subject of the Arab world arises the media in the US is inclined to immediately associate it with everything negative that originates from that part of the world: Car bombs in Iraq, nuclear weapons being constructed in Iran; Islamists taking control of the Palestinian Territories.

It is upon those fears, the fear of Al Qaeda terrorists hiding inside every container entering an American port that sunk the DPW deal. So when you meet someone like the UAE’s Minister of the Economy, the first woman in the history of the country to assume a full cabinet position — her image, that of a highly intelligent, educated, Western in appearance, goes a long way in soothing Western fears of Islamo-Arabophobia.

Surprisingly, and contrary to what one might expect, Shaikha Lubna arrived in Washington with no axe to grind and no chip on her shoulder. Instead, she was full of good intentions and an amazingly open mind, despite the mega-million dollar loss on the Dubai Ports World transaction.

"We have to find out what are the lessons learned," she told me during an interview in Washington. No grudges, or hard feelings? "No," she replies, with an honest smile and without hesitation. "We are long-standing allies of the US. Our relations are larger than that." It’s all part of the game of global trade.

Shaikha Lubna explains that the UAE has a long and strong history of trade with the United States. The UAE ranks among the top five, after Saudi Arabia and Israel, in US exports. The minister has done her homework well. She rattles off figures: trade between the UAE and the US runs in the order of some $10 billion a year. The UAE spends $8.4 billion in purchasing US goods, while the balance goes in the reverse sense.

"These are two nations that need each other," Shaikha Lubna says of her country and the United States. The Emirates has ordered 80 F16 combat aircraft from the United States at a cost of some $6.4 billion. Emirates Airlines has placed an order with Boeing for $20 billion. "Every $1 billion spent in the United States," explains the minister, "means 10,000 American jobs created."

And every one job translates into security for three, four or five people — an entire family, says an aide. When asked how she feels about the ports deal, the minister simply says that someone misjudged. "That’s what happens when you have politicians getting involved in business."

She explains: "There was a lot of misinformation on the Dubai ports deal." Many in the media made it sound as though Dubai would be controlling the entire port operations in the six US ports that the company would have acquired. "It’s nothing like that, said the Emirates minister. "Port operations means people moving boxes." The security remains in US hands all along.

But Shaikha Lubna stresses on the positive. Despite the setback, the United States and the UAE have strong relations in business and defence. "You did not see any hostility towards the Americans in the UAE, where about 50,000 Americans live and work."

Dubai remains the largest "liberty" port in the Gulf, meaning it is where US sailors serving on ships in the region are allowed ashore. There have been over 600 calls by US Navy ships in Dubai and nearby Fujairah.

A handout prepared for the Press with the minister’s biographical statistics quotes her as saying: "I see myself as a change agent for youth to seek technology as a vehicle for development, for women to aspire to serve our society to grow and prosper. For the world to seek better understanding of Muslims and Arab culture."

As one would say, that is the official party line. The minister simply describes herself as a "techie.’