President Sheikh Mohamed's Washington trip expected to see UAE-US ties deepen further

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed’s visit to the US next week is expected to elevate UAE-US relations even further, with a focus on economic and technological ties.

While regional affairs are of major concern for Abu Dhabi and Washington, Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE President, has stressed that the visit will focus on bilateral ties and “how do we want to realign our relationship with America for the next 10 years”. In a briefing in Dubai on Thursday, Dr Gargash noted that “sometimes people like to talk about some tensions in the relationship, but the big story is that this is our most important strategic relationship, regardless of fair or foul weather”, adding that the “relationship is growing”.

Sheikh Mohamed has met US President Joe Biden and US Vice President Kamala Harris previously and has visited the US several times, but this will be his first official visit to the White House as president – and the first by any sitting UAE president.

Sheikh Mohamed and Mr Biden speak frequently by phone and met in Jeddah in 2022, and again at the G20 summit in New Delhi last year. While Dr Gargash expects Sheikh Mohamed and Mr Biden to discuss the war in Gaza and regional developments, he said “the main purpose of the visit, from an Emirati perspective, is investing in our future, and that's through an economic lens and through a real realignment with what's happening in AI and in technology”.

However, the “traditional issues remain: peace, security, stability, extremism, terrorism. These are areas that have become an important part of the relationship at all the years … and the US also feels they have a dependable partner, but that's not the purpose of the visit”.

The visit to the US and the focus on economic and technological issues while there is part of a wider UAE focus on “geoeconomics”, Dr Gargash explained. “We are in less of a geostrategic phase, we are more in a geoeconomic phase. So a lot of the things that the UAE is doing today is with perspective that economy first, prosperity first”.

Dr Gargash acknowledged that “doesn't mean you can ignore things happening in Gaza or happening in other areas, but as you try to manage your role you should never lose sight that the UAE is trying to move along an economic and technological view”. The motivation of this shift is driven in part by the realisation that the “hydrocarbon age” is transitioning. As the UAE is planning for the future “we feel that co-operation with the United States is essential for this success” in future-related issues.

Dr Gargash said US-UAE relations are no longer about “oil and defence”, where that may have been the case several decades ago. Today, it is a “360 degree relationship”, according to Dr Gargash, who gave examples like the presence of 60,000 Americans living in the UAE, $50 billion of trade and 142 flights a week from the UAE to the US. Investments in technology, such as the deal between G42 and Microsoft, show tangible advances behind these ties. Dr Gargash explained “these are not hypothetical areas of co-operation”.

In addition to economic and technological opportunities, issues such as climate, space and education are primary considerations for the UAE when it comes to next week’s visit and wider ties to the UAE, including personal relationships.

The UAE embassy in Washington said Sheikh Mohamed will meet Ms Harris next week, as well as other senior US officials, members of Congress and business leaders. The UAE President has met Ms Harris twice previously, at Cop28 and at Sheikh Khalifa's funeral.

Dr Gargash stressed the importance of climate action, particularly after the UAE hosted Cop28. He said “if we did not have the partnership with the United States between [Cop28 President] Sultan Al Jaber and [then US climate envoy] John Kerry, it would have been very difficult to come out with the outcome that Cop28 did … you need that sort of partnership”.