‘US an attractive place for Muslims’
State Department official says country welcomes all, regardless of race and creed
The United States welcomes all nationalities to its soil for studies and tourism regardless of their creed and colour and it never believes in discriminating against people based on their cultural and religious backgrounds, a top official said here yesterday.
Carl Risch, assistant secretary in the US State Department, said there shouldn’t be any concerns about travelling to the US for study or tourism.
Risch was in Abu Dhabi yesterday as part of a regional tour of the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan to meet with his counterparts to discuss a range of consular issues and promote educational opportunities for all in the US.
At a media briefing at the US Embassy yesterday, Risch said: “Citizens of the UAE and the residents who are living here from across the world, it’s important to know that the United States encourages study in the US. We want people to pursue educational opportunities in the US and we are ready to provide information on that.”
2,700 Emirati students
Currently, 2,700 Emirati students study in the US.
Replying to a question whether the US is still an attractive place for Muslims, particularly from the Middle East, he said: “The United States welcomes people from all over the world, including students from the Middle East, South East Asia and South America; it doesn’t distinguish between people around the world. They are welcome to study in the USA, if they fulfil our criteria required ■ to get a student’s visa.”
“We are open to welcome international students to study in the US, and all are welcome regardless of religion, race, ethnicity and the language,” Risch asserted.
“We want to do everything we can to facilitate the travel of international students to the USA. It’s an important part of our economy and important part of our traditions of academic freedom, openness to new ideas and inviting people to pursue education in the USA,” he said.
Education USA advises people in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and offers presentations in local schools to provide advice on educational opportunities.
On a question about fears by students from the Middle East going to the US to study, Risch said, “The educational situation in the USA and our traditions in welcoming international students has, in fact, not changed from the last year and the year before to now. The United States always encourages international students to come and study there.
“Any of these concerns of not being welcome in the USA are simply unfounded,” he said.
Those travel restrictions out there are based on concerns around the identity management information sharing in those countries.