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It is time to actively pursue an Australia-UAE dialogue

There's no denying that Australia is huge. Massive. Humongous. Twenty times larger than the UAE. As I said - huge.
One might think that would mean that, with all that space to fill, the population difference would also be significant. It's not. Australia has only just over double the population of the UAE.
To put that into perspective, despite being almost exactly the same size as the contiguous states of the US, Australia houses just a shade over seven per cent of the America's total population.
That's a lot of numbers, so let me break it down a little: Australia is massive, and relatively few people live there. It's probably why we are all so friendly - not having to live on top of each other does wonders for a nation's morale. That we have beaches that are literally hundreds of kilometres long, vibrant cosmopolitan cities, and world-class meat, good and, of course, coffee is just a bonus.
Having so much space means there is a lot to explore, it also means that those who choose to come to our fair land will often have whatever it is they wish to experience pretty much to themselves.
Of course, you might really want to go on a holiday that will have you muscling your way through throngs of similarly determined (and flustered) travellers to more populate countries. If that's your thing, then that's great.
The only downside to all of this space and seclusion is that it can be difficult at some attractions to find another person to take a photo for you. I suggest that perhaps the selfie stick is a result of its inventor suffering from such an Australian tourist experience.
Any given week, prospective Australian explorers can jump on close to 200 flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi - and that's just from the UAE's national carriers and their partners. Add all the other carriers that use the UAE's position as the Middle East's largest transit hub, and that number of flights to Australia climbs to the mid-200s. Each and every week!
Those planes are not flying back from Australia empty, either. In 2014 alone, more than 320,000 Australians flew to the UAE. That means that in 2014, one out of every 75 Australians came to Dubai and Abu Dhabi just to say hello and see what all the fuss was about.
I know - more numbers. However, the whole concept has really got me thinking. Perhaps it is time to actively pursue an Australia-UAE dialogue that consolidates our countries' significant investment in each other's future?
What I am suggesting here is that we are poised to go beyond the standard conversations of trade and business. They are big conversations, of course - the UAE is Australia's 15th largest trading partner, while the UAE has historically invested about $26 billion in tourism and business infrastructure in Australia.
However, big numbers like that have the potential to overshadow the friendship on offer between the people of our amazing countries.
So, while our governments get on with doing what they do, why not reconsider in which direction you want your long haul flight to be. There will always be room for you around the kebab barbeque in Australia. The best part? Australians have no idea how Trump got so far in the election either.
Talal Yassine is Chairman, Council of Australian-Arab Relations and Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade