At a time of escalating tensions in the Middle East, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is scheduled to make his first official visit to Washington on Monday with the goal of highlighting economic and scientific collaboration.
The Emiratis, according to presidential advisor Anwar Gargash, are thinking “economy first, prosperity first” in their “strategic relationship” with the United States. The Emiratis aim to shift their economy away from oil and towards new technologies like AI.
Sheikh Mohamed’s visit will make him the first sitting president of the Gulf monarchy, which is rich in oil, to visit Washington on official business.
According to the White House, he will have a meeting with US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is vying to be Biden’s successor.
The Israel-Hamas battle in Gaza and the crisis in Sudan, where the UAE is suspected of supporting one of the warring parties—a claim it refutes—were reportedly the top agenda issues, according to US sources.
Speaking to reporters this week, Gargash stated that the president’s visit will prioritize strengthening business and technology relations while not discounting “things happening in Gaza or things happening in other areas.”
Arab nation “UAE is trying to move more along an economic and technological view, with the full realisation that we are in the fall (season) of the hydrocarbon age” , added the advisor.
Even though “sometimes people like to talk about some tensions in the relationship,” he insisted that the UAE’s relationship with the US was “our most important strategic relationship.”
The UAE, which is anticipated to play a significant role in the post-conflict rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip, is closely associated with Russia and has declined to denounce the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Sheikh Mohamed’s visit comes after Israel and Hezbollah, a Lebanese group, sharply escalated their hostilities, raising concerns about the possibility of a growing Middle East conflict.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), a confederation of sheikhdoms, is one of the few Arab countries to recognize Israel. Its oil wealth, stable reputation, and business environment have given it increasing influence in the Middle East.
In an effort to calm a region that has been driven to the brink by the Israel-Hamas conflict, the US has been pressuring Saudi Arabia, which borders Israel, to establish relations with Israel.
After a number of years of de facto control, Sheikh Mohamed was elected president in May 2022. He has good ties to China and India and has traveled to both this year.
Microsoft declared in April that it will spend $1.5 billion in the UAE’s G42, an artificial intelligence company, while Abu Dhabi also withdrew its ties to Chinese AI partners.
“What makes us wager on technology? We need to find another source of income if we think that hydrocarbons are slowly but surely running out,” Gargash stated.
“A lot of things are in the pipeline,” he continued. We’re mapping out a plan, and in order for us to accomplish these goals, we must work together with you (US).
