UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is in Washington on Monday for a first official visit at a time of heightened tensions in the Middle East, seeking to highlight economic and technological cooperation.
Presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said the Emirates, which wants to reorient its economy away from oil and towards new technologies such as artificial intelligence, is thinking “economy first, prosperity first” in its “strategic relationship” with the United States .
With his upcoming trip, Sheikh Mohammed will become the first sitting president of the oil-rich Gulf monarchy to pay an official visit to Washington.
He is scheduled to meet with US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is vying to succeed Biden, the White House said.
US officials said high on the agenda were the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the conflict in Sudan, where the United Arab Emirates has been accused of supporting one of the warring parties – a charge it denies.
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Speaking to reporters this week, Gargas said that without ignoring “the things that are happening in Gaza or things that are happening in other areas,” the president’s visit will focus on deepening business and technology ties.
“The UAE is trying to move more towards an economic and technological point of view, fully aware that we are in the autumn (season) of the hydrocarbon era,” the adviser said.
He said the UAE’s ties with the United States were “our most important strategic relationship,” even though “sometimes people want to talk about some tensions in the relationship.”
The United Arab Emirates, which is expected to play a key role in the post-war reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, also has close ties to Russia and has refused to condemn the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Sheikh Mohammed’s trip follows a sharp escalation in hostilities between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah group that has fueled fears of a widening war in the Middle East.
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The UAE, a sheikh federation, is one of the few Arab states to recognize Israel and enjoys growing influence in the Middle East due to its oil wealth, business environment and reputation for stability.
It also neighbors oil giant Saudi Arabia, which the US has been pushing to forge ties with Israel in hopes of placating a region rocked by the Israel-Hamas war.
Sheikh Mohammed, who became president in May 2022 after several years of de facto rule, has strong ties to China and India and has visited both countries this year.
In April, Microsoft announced a $1.5 billion investment in UAE AI firm G42, as Abu Dhabi simultaneously distanced itself from Chinese AI partnerships.
“Why are we betting on technology? If we think hydrocarbons are on the way out, slowly but surely, then we have to replace the revenue stream through something else,” Gargash said.
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He added: “Many things are in the works. We are drawing a map… and we need to work with you (US) to achieve these things.”
Source: AFP