DUBAI (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates is strengthening its relationship with the United States, the Gulf state’s foreign minister said on Friday, a sign of warmer relations after several friction points during the Biden presidency.
Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan made his comments after the UAE’s ruler held separate talks this week with U.S. President Joe Biden, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump.
Emirati leader Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was making his first visit to the U.S. as president. It was also the first visit by a sitting Emirati president to the U.S. since the UAE was established in 1971.
During the visit, Biden recognised the Gulf state as a major defence partner.
“My country, the UAE, is doubling down on its relationship with the U.S.,” Sheikh Abdullah said in a statement to Reuters without providing details.
He said that being recognised as a major defence partner was a welcome development that mirrored a confidence in U.S. policy.
The UAE is a security partner of the U.S., having fought alongside American forces in several military campaigns, including the war in Afghanistan, and U.S. troops are stationed in Abu Dhabi. The UAE also depends on the U.S. security umbrella in the Gulf.
But Washington has been concerned about the UAE’s warm relationship with China and the U.S. commitment to the Gulf state’s security.
Sheikh Abdullah, the foreign minister, said Abu Dhabi looked forward to continuing to work with Washington.
“The UAE remains very bullish about the U.S.,” he said.
This year, Washington and Abu Dhabi deepened cooperation on artificial intelligence but only after a state-backed Emirati technology firm committed to pulling out Chinese hardware from its systems and selling Chinese investments.
Microsoft is now a key investor in the state-backed firm, G42. Sheikh Mohamed this week met Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and chipmaker Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
(Writing by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Timothy Heritage and Cynthia Osterman)
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