On September 23, 2024, US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris received UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the White House. The visit was quite historic as it marked the first visit by a sitting president of the UAE. At this meeting, there were a number of conflicts facing the Middle East, especially the war-torn Darfur region in Sudan, and Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
In a joint statement, Biden and Sheikh Mohamed said they were deeply worried about the continuous fighting in Sudan, very much so in Darfur, where “the risk of atrocities is imminent.” They called for an immediate ceasefire between Sudan’s army and RSF, a paramilitary group, with appeals for all parties to respect international humanitarian law. The statement, however, did not mention the UAE’s alleged support for the RSF after Khartoum accused it of being so and Washington accused the RSF of committing atrocities in Darfur.
Kamala Harris held a separate meeting with the Emirati leader, voicing her own set of concerns over the Sudan conflict. Her office stressed that efforts toward peace and stability should be pursued in the region.
Another ruling factor that dominated the discussions was the continued war in Gaza after the October 7 attacks by Hamas. Biden underlined efforts toward an end to the conflict. He spoke about Israel’s strikes in Lebanon against Hezbollah, which have killed hundreds of people. The UAE is likely to play an active role in the post-war construction of Gaza.
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Biden praised the UAE as a “country of pioneers” and said that it is well-placed to become a crucial defense partner of the US. On its part, the UAE stressed that its “primary goal” is the advancement of economic and technological relations – in particular, within areas such as artificial intelligence – with the US, since the UAE wants to shift away from dependence on oil.
While the UAE is a very close strategic partner of the US, it also maintains close relations with Russia and has conspicuously avoided joining in the condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year – a fact that has kept the relationship occasionally testy.
