TRAVEL BAN
Qataris, who previously travelled freely between the countries, have been banned from the UAE unless they receive a special permit.
Romaithi said the almost complete absence of Qataris from the tournament was because few had applied for such permission.
"I assure you we have no problem receiving any Qatari who will go through the proper channel," said the former Abu Dhabi police chief.
The Qatar FA could not immediately be reached for comment.
Under AFC rules, candidates for the presidency are not allowed to campaign for the April 6 election during the Asian Cup but Romaithi made it clear what his main platform would be.
"One short statement: improving the level of football in Asia," he said.
"That has to have a lot of tools but I know where I'd start. I can't say (exactly) because I don't want to violate the rules but any president needs to improve the level of football in Asia, not just in the rich countries but all over the region."
A pacy winger in his youth, the 54-year-old said he wanted to see more of the sort of sponsorship money that has been flooding into FIFA's coffers from Asian companies remain in the continent.
"We want to bring some of this money to Asia, China, Japan, South Korea, UAE and Saudi Arabia, giant companies that can go into the AFC and sponsor," he said.
"I was always good with money, even when I worked here, I got a lot of money for our FA. Money is important."
