The British public want the UK to keep a strong relationship with Arab nations, according to an exclusive poll commissioned by The National.
The Deltapoll findings come more than a decade after the UK government began deepening its ties with the Gulf, in particular.
Thirty-one per cent of the survey’s 2,096 respondents said the UK should cultivate a stronger relationship with the Arab world and 31 per cent said relations should stay as they are.
That compared with 17 per cent who thought ties should become weaker, while 22 per cent had no opinion.
Dr David Roberts, an associate professor in the defence studies department of King’s College London, said the UK’s ties with the region had improved since David Cameron took office as UK prime minister in 2010.
During the Tony Blair and Gordon Brown era Britain was comparatively disengaged. The Gulf was not seen as a priority. With Cameron there was a feeling Britain had a significant legacy. There’s a lot of desire on both sides to build on that
Dr David Roberts,
King’s College London
The centre of this relationship is, he said, the “defence-economic nexus”.
“During the Tony Blair and Gordon Brown era … Britain was comparatively disengaged. The Gulf was not seen as a priority,” Dr Roberts said, referring to Britain's Labour prime ministers from 1997 to 2010.
“A Conservative government came in with Cameron and there was a feeling Britain had a significant legacy, particularly in the Gulf. There’s certainly a lot of desire on both sides to build on that,” he said.
Other findings in the wide-ranging exclusive poll
Dr Roberts, who is the author of a forthcoming book, Security Politics in the Gulf Monarchies, said it was difficult to highlight anything specific as being Boris Johnson’s legacy in UK-Middle East relations.
“He was part of a series of leaders in recent years, since probably David Cameron, who have increasingly focused on Britain’s relations with the Gulf and the Middle East more generally. He’s part of the trend of greater engagement,” he said.
“As for Liz Truss, I suppose she will continue with the trend to deepen engagement quite considerably. What levers she has I’m not quite sure, but I would imagine she would be keen for trade associations.”
The UK opened a permanent naval base in Bahrain in 2018 and, in the same year, inaugurated its UK Joint Logistics Support Base in Oman.
King Charles III, who took the throne this month, has a strong interest in the region, in Islam and the Arabic language, and has strong friendships with a number of the Gulf monarchies.
That interest and friendship is expected to remain strong as he serves as head of state.
The British focus on the Gulf comes at time when, Dr Roberts said, the centre of gravity of power and influence in the Middle East is continuing to shift.
'Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh now Middle East capitals'
“My sense is that Cairo, Damascus and Baghdad are increasingly less influential,” he said.
“[Now] we keep hearing about Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, maybe Doha as well. The Gulf monarchies are coming to the fore and Dubai is central to that.”
Some of the tensions that may have made the British public wary of the Middle East have receded, suggested Dr Roberts, who made reference to another militant group, Daesh, also known as ISIS, which emerged a decade after the Iraq war and centred its activity in western Iraq and eastern Syria.
“Thankfully in recent years the Daesh movement in Syria and Iraq has died down, and the carnage of Iraq has died down, the carnage of Syria has died down, at least from a British perspective,” he said.
Looking at views in the opposite direction, Dr Roberts said the UK’s role in the highly controversial Iraq war, while not forgotten in the Middle East, had “increasingly fallen into the near past”.
“In the states, at elite levels, they’re keen to look forward a little bit more,” he said.
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Community Shield info
Where, when and at what time Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday at 5pm (UAE time)
Arsenal line up (3-4-2-1) Petr Cech; Rob Holding, Per Mertesacker, Nacho Monreal; Hector Bellerin, Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain; Alex Iwobi, Danny Welbeck; Alexandre Lacazette
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
Chelsea line up (3-4-2-1) Thibaut Courtois; Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Gary Cahill; Victor Moses, Cesc Fabregas, N'Golo Kante, Marcos Alonso; Willian, Pedro; Michy Batshuayi
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte
Referee Bobby Madley
Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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The five pillars of Islam
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE squad
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UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
MATCH DETAILS
Juventus 2 (Bonucci 36, Ronaldo 90 6)
Genoa 1 (Kouame 40)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
India Test squad
Virat Kohli (c), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill
How to apply for a drone permit
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What are the regulations?
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
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Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
The Greatest Royal Rumble card
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Rusev
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v Kalisto
Rooney's club record
At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
