Abdullah bin Zayed discusses with Blinken enhancing bilateral relations
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates, met Wednesday with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and senior congressional leaders, where they discussed how best to develop bilateral cooperation in the areas of security, climate, trade and investment.
During the talks in Washington, the two sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to countering extremism and the threats facing both sides in the Middle East and to continuing to work to strengthen and ensure the Abraham Accords success.
According to the official WAM news agency, the two ministers reviewed ongoing efforts to provide humanitarian aid to people affected by earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan affirmed the UAE’s firm commitment to addressing the effects of climate change, as well as cooperation on several bilateral initiatives aimed at facilitating the smooth transition of renewable energy sources and increasing investments in agriculture and climate-friendly diets. For example, the “Partnership to Accelerate the Use of Clean Energy” initiative launched by the UAE and the US in November 2022, which includes the allocation of $100 billion in funding, investments and other support means as incentives to provide clean energy with an additional 100 gigawatts by 2035.
He pointed to the UAE’s hosting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) this year, noting that climate change is having a significant impact on the UAE and that the country is going through a major energy transition.
“We understand the urgent need for ambitious action with the United States and other partners to address climate change and facilitate a smooth transition to a near-carbon-free world in the future”, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed said.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed also held meetings with senators Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator James Risch, vice chairman of the committee, and Senator Todd Young, where they discussed ways to strengthen economic relations between the UAE and the United States, as well as promoting investments and trade between the two countries.
The U.A.E. is the largest market for U.S. exports in the Middle East, and economic partnerships are creating jobs, innovation opportunities and economic growth in both countries.
The volume of trade between the two countries in 2022 was $27.8 billion. The volume of UAE exports to the United States exceeded $6.9 billion, an increase of 16% over the volume of the country’s exports the previous year.
