UAE FM Sheikh Abdullah discusses ties, trade with Blinken, US senators

The UAE’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed met with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and a number of senate members to discuss an array of issues and partnership possibilities during a visit to Washington DC.

During the meeting with Blinken, Sheikh Abdullah discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in security, climate, trade exchange and investment, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on Wednesday.

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The two sides also reportedly highlighted their joint efforts to combat extremism in the Middle East and further the Abraham Accords.

The UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan normalized ties with Israel in 2020 through signing the US-brokered Abraham Accords.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict in recent months were also discussed in line with the possible steps that could be taken to prevent further escalation of violence and restore calm, state department spokesperson Ned Price was quoted as saying in a media handout.

The duo also reviewed aid efforts to quake-hit Turkey and Syria, WAM reported.

They discussed climate linked initiatives like the UAE-US Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy (PACE) and the upcoming COP28 event in the emirates.

“We understand the urgent need for ambitious action with the US and other partners to address climate change and facilitate a smooth transition to a near-carbon-neutral world in the future,” Sheikh Abdullah was quoted as saying by WAM.

Lastly, the UAE garnered praise for its “steadfast support for Ukraine” and “appreciation for the UAE’s generous humanitarian aid contributions to the Ukrainian people,” according to Price.

The UAE diplomat also held discussions with Bob Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Jim Risch, Vice Chairman of the Committee; and Senator Todd Young, ex-chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

The meetings reportedly explored ways to strengthen economic relations between the two allies, and promote trade and investments.

The UAE is the largest market for US exports in the Middle East. The volume of trade exchange between the two countries last year amounted to $27.8 billion. The volume of UAE exports to the US exceeded US$6.9 billion, an increase of 16 percent over the volume of the country’s exports in the previous year.

Sheikh Abdullah was accompanied by Reem bint al-Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation; Lana Nusseibeh, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and the UAE’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations; and Yousef Manea al-Otaiba, the UAE’s Ambassador to the United States.

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