"We are looking for various means of cooperation" and "of being part of the initiative to unite two oceans with a canal," said Prince Abdullah Zayed Al Nayan after meeting with President Daniel Ortega late Monday.

Ortega made a detailed presentation to the UAE delegation about the potential for outside investment in energy, ports and infrastructure, including the canal project, which China and Venezuela have expressed interest in.

"I am here with a team who has been well chosen and that represents the government and the private sector, many of them from very important firms," Zayed Al Nayan said.

"I think they are going to be very interested in reviewing this proposal" for an inter-oceanic canal, he said.

He said that "if the studies are positive, we will be able find many partners" to push it foward.

The idea of building a canal across Nicaragua dates from the mid-19th century, but was overtaken by the construction of the Panama Canal.

In recent years, however, Nicaraguan governments have revived the concept as a way to promote development of the country, the second poorest in the western hemisphere after Haiti.