Abu Dhabi to be selective in aiding Dubai World

Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates and one of the world's top oil exporters, said today that it will "pick and choose" how to assist its debt-laden neighbour Dubai, Reuters reported a senior Abu Dhabi as saying.

"We will look at Dubai's commitments and approach them on a case-by-case basis. It does not mean that Abu Dhabi will underwrite all of their debts," the unidentified official said.

"Some of Dubai's entities are commercial, semi-government ones. Abu Dhabi will pick and choose when and where to assist," he said.

Dubai is part of the seven-state UAE; but it lacks the oil reserves of its neighbours and thus depends more on trade for its finances. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the only two emirates to possess veto power over critical matters of national importance in the country's legislature.

On Friday, Reserve Bank of India Governor D Subbarao had said the central bank will measure the extent of Dubai's debt problem as well as its impact on Indian economy.

"We should not react to instant news like this," he said. "One lesson that we learnt from the global financial crisis is that we must study developments and measure the extent of the problem and we need to study its impact on India," he said. (See: Dubai crisis not to hurt India much, says government)