Fujairah [key], sheikhdom, c.450 sq mi (1,170 sq km), part of the federation of seven United Arab Emirates, SE Arabia, on the Gulf of Oman. Agriculture, fishing, boatbuilding are principal industries; there also is a port. No oil of any worth has been found in Fujairah, and it is one of the less developed emirates. A pipeline that runs from Abu Dhabi to the port enables oil shipments to bypass the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Its ownership was contested in the late 19th cent. Fujairah was a British protectorate until it joined the United Arab Emirates in 1971.
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