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DUBAI - Joseph Khoury of Parkersburg is learning about the global market while working in Dubai, a Middle East desert city-state in the news recently for its debt problems.

Khoury, a 2005 graduate of Parkersburg Catholic High School and 2009 graduate of Wheeling Jesuit University, is working for his uncle's company, which does business with international companies that use Dubai as a distribution center for the Middle East.

"His company pretty much handles all the freight, storage and distribution for their clients," Khoury wrote in an e-mail to the News & Sentinel this week.

Situated south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula, Dubai has been recognized as a commerce and tourism hub of the region. Dubai, one of seven autonomous statelets that make up the United Arab Emirates, sits at the crossroads of Asia, Africa and Europe.

Dubai World- the emirate's chief engine for growth over the past decade- shocked the world last week with an announcement that it wanted to defer for at least six months payments on some of its $60 billion in debts, the Associated Press reported.

The call for a 'standstill' in repaying debts was viewed by some ratings firms as a default and roiled global markets, AP reported, stirring fears the global economic recovery was on shakier footing than many had believed.

Dubai has been a hotbed for construction for years. The all-suite Burj Al Arab luxury hotel along the coastline was designed to resemble a billowing sail. When completed, The Burj Dubai is being billed as the tallest skyscraper in the world at 2,684 feet.

Because Dubai's oil revenues are only about 6-10 percent of its income, the construction boom apparently involved a decision to begin relying on service and tourism to diversify the economy, said Khoury, whose college degree is in international business with a minor in political science.

"A lot of the construction right now is at a standstill. I think the problems you are reading about in Dubai partially stem from the worldwide economic situation," Khoury wrote in his e-mail, when contacted by the News & Sentinel. Khoury had visited Dubai previously.

Although noting he was not an expert on the Dubai economy or its government policies, Khoury, 22, believes that in the past Dubai has thought that "if you build it, they will come." And for a considerable time companies did, he noted.

Khoury wrote: "Dubai's location made them an ideal area for commerce. They gambled on this fact to make their city attractive to big companies and catered to them. But a good bit of economic theories are based on demand. Demand will always come first as it is the basis for any anticipated future supply to satisfy it.

"Demand is created by motivating those who have money to spend to buy your product(s) or in this case their location and free zones. Your distribution work depends on the demand not the supply."

When discussing Dubai's overall economy, Khoury believes the relatively low price of oil contributes to the current global recession. "I believe that as the world/U.S. economy stabilizes, oil will move up toward the $100 plus" mark, he said.

As the United States is dealing with its financial crisis, Dubai needs to do the same, Khoury said.

"There has been indeed a real estate bubble and out of control that will be self-corrected through market forces. So the bottom line is: Short-term difficulties, but long-term stability and growth. I do not see this changing because Dubai has made itself the financial capital of the Middle East; a center hub for services such as IT and media; it is becoming a major tourist center; and has great access to two main natural resources oil and access to waterways," he wrote.

Just like in the United States, jobs are hard to find in Dubai and people are being laid off, he said.

Khoury said the people in Dubai are friendly and there is a "good mix of the East and West." There is a good bit of British influence because the UAE was once under Great Britain rule, he said.

There is no tax in Dubai and imported items are duty free, Khoury said. "That's one of the reasons it is a shopping place for the upper class for designer items," he wrote.

"It is a traditional Arabic country but also very westernized. You can eat at McDonald's or Subway or enjoy outdoor Arabic cafes on the same streets," he said. The "American" fast food places also have Arabic and vegetarian (for the Indian or Pakistani population) items on their menus.

Khoury said his long-term goal is to own a company dealing either with logistics or trade. His short-term goal is to gain as much experience as possible in the international market.

He is the son of Sohiel and Jamie Khoury of Parkersburg.