Harris, top U.S. officials visit UAE to pay respects
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB Vice President EMIRATES — Kamala Harris led a high-powered American delegation to the United Arab Emirates on Monday to pay respects to the federation’s late ruler and meet with the newly ascended president.
The trip marks the highest-level visit by Biden administration officials to oil-rich Abu Dhabi, a potent show of support as America tries to repair troubled relations with its partner amid the fast-changing geopolitical landscape precipitated by Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s powerful national security adviser, greeted Harris on the windswept tarmac. The delegation also included Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, CIA Director William Burns and climate envoy John Kerry, among others.
The UAE named the assertive Abu Dhabi crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan its new president following the death of his half-brother last Friday. Sheikh Mohammed has served as the country’s de facto ruler and shaped the country’s muscular foreign policy since Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan suffered a stroke nearly a decade ago.
Under Sheikh Mohammed’s de facto rule, the UAE has intervened in regional conflicts from Yemen to Libya, used its vast oil wealth to exert sway abroad and transformed into a regional financial hub.
Underscoring Abu Dhabi’s great influence in Western and Arab capitals, an array of presidents, prime ministers and princes descended on the desert sheikhdom over the weekend to honor the late Sheikh Khalifa, praise Sheikh Mohammed and solidify ties. French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson were the first European leaders to jet to the UAE capital.
More dignitaries filtered through the Abu Dhabi airport’s marbled presidential terminal on Monday. Britain’s Prince William came Monday to pay tribute to the late ruler of the former British protectorate, marking his second visit to the emirate so far this year.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian made a rare trip to Abu Dhabi that appeared to coincide with the U.S. trip. Iran has refused to meet American officials face-to-face, even as they negotiate a return to Tehran’s tattered nuclear accord with world powers.