WAM/Reuters file photo
Release date: Sunday, September 22, 2024, 3:17 PM
Last updated: Sunday, September 22, 2024, 6:37 p.m.
The UAE plays a key role in the Middle East and is a valued partner to the United States, and both countries hope to benefit from strong bilateral cooperation on a range of issues.
These areas include discussions on regional and international peace, including Gaza and Sudan, Ukraine and Russia, relations with China, artificial intelligence (AI), technology transfer, space exploration, and achieving global climate goals.
Danny Sebright, president of the US-UAE Business Council, spoke about the priorities on the agenda in an exclusive interview with Khaleej Times ahead of Sheikh Mohammed’s historic visit to Washington on Monday.
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He said: “The UAE has always had a close partnership with the United States, first in the political and diplomatic spheres, then in the military intelligence and security sphere, and in the last 15 to 20 years also in business and trade. This business, trade and commercial relationship has just ‘exploded’ and is now a major focus between the two countries.”
Sebright, who has worked on Middle East peace efforts since the 1980s and was part of former US President Bill Clinton’s team during those talks, added:
“Economy, trade, digital, AI, all of these things are really important at this point. The United States is looking to the UAE for leadership on climate change. We are looking to the UAE for leadership in the north, south, east and west. All of this translates to good business, good trade and investment. If you build these bridges, some of the other things you want to achieve in geopolitics will follow.”
Danny Sebright
History is being made
Notably, history will be made on Monday with the first visit to the White House by a sitting UAE president. This will also mark the first meeting between a UAE president and a US president on US soil since the emirate’s founding.
“Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan has been (to the US), but he went to Cleveland, Ohio for treatment. Former president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan never went. Sheikh Mohammed came as crown prince of Abu Dhabi but never as president,” Sebright added.
In 2019, Sheikh Mohammed met with then-US President George W. Bush at Camp David in Maryland. Sheikh Mohammed further met Biden at a summit in Jeddah two months after he became president of the UAE in May 2022, and at the G20 summit in New Delhi in 2023.
“But this will be the first time that the president of the UAE will visit the White House and meet with US President Joe Biden there. He will also meet with Vice President Kamala Harris (who is running for president).”
Visiting Priorities
Sebright, who has already flown to the US for this momentous occasion, spoke about the priorities of the visit: “So a very important aspect is to make a public statement about this ‘great technology relationship’ that has developed over the last two years – AI, digital and all of this. That will be a big focus of the visit.”
Commenting on Microsoft’s strengthened partnership and investment with Abu Dhabi-based G42, which aims to deliver advanced AI solutions to public sector clients around the world, Sebright added: “We are thrilled to be working with G42, an Abu Dhabi-based company that is committed to delivering advanced AI solutions to public sector clients around the world.
“The agreements signed by Microsoft and others, and the ongoing tech and AI relationship between the U.S. and the UAE will also be on the list. And then we’ll move forward with the issue of AI, specifically GPUs (graphics processing units), the transfer and sales of technology, making it clear that these are areas that the U.S. and the UAE want to focus on in the future, and making sure that everyone understands that this is something that the U.S. and UAE governments have discussed and agreed upon.”
Expanding bilateral space cooperation
Sebright also highlighted that a key area of interest was “space exploration”, particularly the collaboration between NASA and the UAE Space Agency.
“You’re going to see more Emirati astronauts train at Johnson Space Center. You’re going to see a lot more collaboration between NASA and the UAE Space Agency, and between NASA and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) — not just with the astronauts themselves, but with the actual research and development and teams working together to create new projects.”
International Cooperation in Energy Technology
He noted that the discussions will also include energy issues, with emphasis on renewable and nuclear energy as well as traditional oil and gas.
“Renewables, nuclear, everything to do with green energy, not just oil and gas, will be on the agenda. There will be a lot of discussion on those topics, including what Masdar is doing with solar and wind,” Sebright added.
“Taking risks for peace”
He reiterated that another important item on the agenda is for the two leaders to hold talks focused on enhancing stability and easing tensions in the region.
Their dialogue is likely to focus on cooperation strategies to address the ongoing conflict and foster a more peaceful environment in the region.
“Regional, political and strategic, they’re obviously going to talk about relations with Gaza and Israel. They’re going to talk about Sudan. I expect the issue of Russia and Ukraine will come up. They’re going to have to say something about China and the importance of our relationship with China,” Sebright said.
He stressed that the United States serves as a mediator to bring all parties together and promote dialogue and teamwork.
“The U.S. role is to set the table, to create the room. We are the hosts. Our role is to get everybody in the room, to brainstorm ideas, to facilitate discussion. But you’re never going to get an agreement if the other side isn’t ready to make an agreement… It’s not going to happen.”
“But we’re still respected by anyone else who’s in a position to bring people together and convene. What we said during the (Bill) Clinton administration is we help them ‘take risks for peace’. We work with them, we help them mitigate the issues that they’re most concerned about and we help them say, ‘We can sign this and get this done,’ because the United States has always helped mitigate the risks in signing agreements.”
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