US lawmakers urge more UAE steps against terrorism

WASHINGTON, June 6 (Reuters) The United Arab Emirates should cooperate more with the United States against nuclear proliferation to help ensure terrorists do not hijack its vulnerable economy and threaten global security, a group of U.S. lawmakers said on Monday.

''We believe the UAE is highly susceptible to exploitation by terrorist organizations such as al Qaeda and nuclear proliferators such as Iran,'' five members of the House of Representatives said in a letter to the UAE's ambassador in Washington, Al Asri Al Dhahri.

A copy of the June 5 letter, obtained by Reuters, was signed by Rep. Sue Kelly of New York, the Republican vice chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Florida Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch, Florida Republican Rep. Mark Foley and California Democratic Rep. Diane Watson.

The lawmakers acknowledged considerable efforts by the UAE to address security concerns, but said they were not enough.

They called on the UAE to outline what steps it had taken to prevent abuse of its financial and export control systems, improve oversight of charities and money services businesses outside the banking sector, and crack down on bulk cash transfers.

They also asked for details on what the UAE was doing to prevent smuggling of items like gold and diamonds in and out of the UAE, a key regional trade hub.

Officials at the UAE embassy were not available for comment and US Treasury officials declined to comment.

Reuters SK VP0540