THE UAE’S RETURN TO A DIPLOMACY-FIRST FOREIGN POLICY
The MED This Week newsletter provides expert analysis and informed insights on the most significant developments in the MENA region, bringing together unique opinions on the topic and reliable foresight on future scenarios. Today, we turn the spotlight on the Emirates, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of its foundation at a time of vibrant diplomatic dynamism at both the regional and international levels. Nonetheless, despite this new emphasis on promoting dialogue, several vital economic and security challenges are likely to remain at the top of the country’s agenda.
On December 14th, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, hosted Israel’s Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, in the first-ever Israeli high-level visit to the UAE. This historic meeting conveys the latest outcome of the gradual consolidation of bilateral relations between the two countries, which began in 2020 with the “Abraham Accords” and progressively evolved into shared economic and security cooperation initiatives. Thus, more importantly, the visit represents just one indicator of the degree to which diplomatic engagement has moved to the forefront of Abu Dhabi’s regional policies — further epitomised by the ongoing Expo Dubai. Over the last few months, the UAE has indeed taken steps to enhance bilateral relations with traditional partners and, at the same time, engage — rather than confront — traditional regional competitors (such as Turkey and Iran). Yet, despite recent overtures, this diplomacy-first foreign policy goes hand in hand with several challenges that are likely to once again reach the top of Abu Dhabi’s agenda. Bennett’s visit thus signals Israel’s concerns over the Emirates’ rapprochement with Iran — denoted by the UAE’s National Security Advisor’s rare visit to the Islamic Republic — and Abu Dhabi’s leading role in the Arab normalisation with Damascus. To maintain this ambitious foreign policy posture, the UAE also finds itself having to reconcile the development of economic ties with China with the preservation of its privileged alliance with the US and the European partners (chiefly France, which Abu Dhabi has just signed a significant arms supply agreement with).
Experts from the ISPI MED network react to the UAE’S renewed regional diplomatic engagement.
