The drum beat has been that the Government of the UAE owns and operates DPW. Has this another knee jerk fallacy about the deal?
I believe this has been reported by some of the news media. "Foreigners" could mean Brits, French, Dutch, Indians, etc, etc.... By requiring foreigners who want to start a business in the UAE, UAE nationals can reap the benefits of owning a business while not actually having to run it. DPW, however, was started by the sheiks, but they allow foreigners to actually manage the business.
The UAE is like a giant corporation itself. There is no real "patriotism" in the country (80% of the population are expatriates). When I lived there, it was commonly accepted that the national anthem was "Dream of Rain" by Sting. The sheiks who rule the country are pretty much like CEOs. There is a sort of caste system. UAE nationals and Arabs are on top, and Europeans and Americans are second, Indians and Filipinos are third, and Africans are dead last. Many times, pay is distributed based on race, ethnicity, and nationality.
It is likely that the US ports are being run by Americans and Brits, but the UAE simply owns the company that pays them. I don't know how often UAE nationals actually review the management of the ports firsthand.