About Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi is the seat of federal government and the country’s capital.  The United Arab Emirates (UAE) lies on the south-eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south and west and the Sultanate of Oman to the southeast, while Qatar lies to the northwest.

The UAE was formally established in December 1971, following an agreement between rulers of the seven emirates to form a union. These emirates are Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah.

Abu Dhabi, the largest of the seven emirates to make up the United Arab Emirates, occupies over 80% of the country’s total land mass and features a coastline that stretches over 700 kilometres.

The capital city, Abu Dhabi, is located on a low-lying island, featuring a Manhattan like skyline with tree-lined roads and landscaped parks and gardens. Sparkling waters of the Arabian Gulf, which surround the city, complete the scenic vista.

The flag of the United Arab Emirates contains the pan-arab colours; red, green, white and black, which symbolise Arabian unity.

Arabic is the official national language, although English, Hindi and Urdu are also widely spoken.

Islam is the official religion of the UAE, which is widely practised by Emirati nationals as well as expatriates originating from other Arab countries, Pakistan, Africa and India, amongst others. Friday is the Islamic holy day (compared to Sunday in other religions).

Abu Dhabi has a sub-tropical climate and sunny blue skies with temperatures that vary but never disappoint. The city's facilities are completely air conditioned so even in the very hottest Arabian Summer's day - inhabitants of the city are comfortable.

Visitors to IDEX in February can expect the weather to be mostly sunny with average cloud cover and highs of 25°C and lows of 14°C.

The official currency of the United Arab Emirates is the Dirham (abbreviated to Dhs or AED), with each dirham divided into 100 fils. Dirham notes come in 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 denominations, while common coins come in Dhs 1, 0.5 and 0.25.

The dirham is pegged to the US Dollar at the official exchange rate of Dhs 3.6725 to every US Dollar.

ATM’s, banks and money exchange bureaus can be found throughout Abu Dhabi.  Credit cards, such as MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Diners Club, are widely accepted in the United Arab Emirates.