Gargash: US ‘most important strategic partner’ for UAE
Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to President Sheikh Khalifa, has said the US is the UAE’s “most important and enduring strategic partner”.
Dr Gargash’s comments came after a week-long visit to Washington, where he met senior US officials to discuss diplomacy, de-escalation and the pandemic. He said the talks were fruitful.
“Meetings in Washington [were] very positive,” Dr Gargash, former minister of state for foreign affairs, wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
The UAE will work with the US as the “constant voice of reason, moderation and engagement” on global affairs, he said.
“The US is one of our most important relationships. It is as close and as strong as it has ever been with the Biden administration,” he said.
“In our 50th year, the UAE’s shared vision and values with the US are well appreciated.”
During his visit, he reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to working with the US on regional matters and looked at ways to build on the Abraham Accords that normalised ties between the UAE and Israel to bring about “greater regional prosperity and stability”, state news agency Wam reported.
Dr Gargash met members of Congress, National Security Council Co-ordinator for the Middle East Brett McGurk and other high-ranking officials.
He met Mr McGurk at the White House, with the talks also attended by senior US Department of Defence and State Department officials.
Dr Gargash also met deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman to discuss ways the UAE and US can co-operate to resolve regional conflicts and pressing global challenges, including climate change, the pandemic and nuclear proliferation.
He also held talks with US senators Bill Hagerty, Todd Young and Jeff Merkley.
Dr Gargash is one of the most senior Emirati officials to conduct such a visit since Joe Biden was sworn in as US President in January.
“This UAE-US partnership remains a constant,” Dr Gargash said.
“It has endured through remarkable change and this visit has only added to my confidence about its future.”
During his visit, Dr Gargash announced that the UAE’s institution for training its next generation of diplomats – the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy – has linked up with the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington.
The partnership will help to educate a new generation of leaders in international relations.
At the heart of the collaboration will be the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan professorship at Johns Hopkins’ Henry A Kissinger Centre for Global Affairs. The professorship will be jointly funded by the two parties.
Dr Gargash reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to working with the US and looked at ways to build on the Abraham Accords