A 39-member delegation from the Saratoga County Chamber recently traveled to the UAE to meet with officials from ATIC & GLOBALFOUNDRIES and to tour the Meydan Race Course. Here\'s a short presentation that documents some of our findings and experiences from this venture.

1. Chamber Trip to the UAE - 2012

2. ATIC-GLOBALFOUNDRIES WELCOME CENTER
Our delegation enjoyed the reception hosted for us by ATIC and
GLOBALFOUNDRIES in their wafer-shaped building in Abu Dhabi. A highlight of
this event was a guided tour of their welcome and education center that tells
the story of the history and future of the world’s semiconductor industry.

3. Geoff Akiki, GM, of GLOBALFOUNDRIES, in Abu Dhabi
Our delegation met with the top leaders from GLOBALFOUNDRIES and
ATIC during the reception and enjoyed making some very positive
connections. Geoff Akiki for one is originally from Tupper Lake.

4. Special Thank you’s
Todd Shimkus and Dennis Brobston took time to thank ATIC &
GLOBALFOUNDRIES leaders both for hosting this reception and for their
investment in Saratoga County.

5. Meydan Race
Course Tour
Frank Gabriel, CEO of the Dubai
Racing Club, and a native of
Pennsylvania, took our
delegation on a tour of the
Meydan Race Course, built and
opened in 2010.
The tour took us to the 5-Star
hotel’s roof top pool and lounge
overlooking the racecourse and
to the backstretch where we
could see the entire facility.

6. Arabian Race
Horses
Our delegation toured one of the
air-conditioned and immaculate
barns holding 40 Arabian Race
Horses, at Meydan. These horses
travel through underground
tunnels to other sections of the
race course for training or racing.

7. The Malls
There are 69 Malls in Dubai. This
includes the Mall of Dubai in which
there is an Aquarium, a
waterfall, and a full hockey rink for
public skating with a big screen
display board. This mall is the
largest in the world with 1,100 US
and European stores. The Emirates
Mall is famous for hosting an
indoor ski and tubing mountain for
kids and adults.

8. Cultural
Exchange
In Abu Dhabi, we toured the Sheihk
Zayet Grand Mosque. This is the 8th
largest Mosque in the world and
can accommodate up to 30,000
worshippers at one time. All
women entering the Mosque must
wear an Abaya and men and
women are prohibited from
touching. Our delegation also
participated in a Dessert Safari
complete with camel rides and
some amazing views.

9. New Building
Everyone in the delegation agreed,
the pace of new growth here is
stunning and whatever company is in
the crane business is doing very well!