Biden and Harris Meet UAE Leader to Discuss Sudan Crisis and Middle East Issues

Biden Meets With Emirati President in Washington

By Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Ismaeel Naar NYT News Service/Syndicate Stories WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden met with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, at the White House on Monday against the backdrop of violence in the Gaza Strip, civil war in Sudan and the development of artificial intelligence. The meeting was the first visit by an Emirati president to American soil since the Emirates was founded in 1971. Vice President Kamala Harris will hold a separate meeting with Sheikh Mohammed on Monday afternoon. The Emirates has helped evacuate critically wounded or sick Gaza residents from the strip and is considered a crucial partner in the eventual rebuilding of the Palestinian territory after the war between Israel and Hamas. The Emirates said last week that it would refuse to support any postwar reconstruction efforts in Gaza without a clear plan for the establishment of a Palestinian state. "The United Arab Emirates is not ready to support the day after the war in Gaza without the establishment of a Palestinian state," Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE foreign minister, wrote on social media last week. But the White House has also faced pressure from U.S. lawmakers in recent months to scrutinize the Emirates on multiple issues. On Friday, five Democrats issued an open letter calling on the Biden administration to raise concerns with the Emirates over its covert support for paramilitary fighters in Sudan. After greeting Sheikh Mohammed at the White House, Biden ignored shouted questions about whether Israel and Hamas could agree to a cease-fire deal before Biden's term is up. Sheikh Mohammed, speaking through an interpreter in the Oval Office, later pledged "unwavering commitment to work with the United States for the sake of deepening the strategic partnership between our two nations." The Emirates has flown advanced military drones to provide the paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, with battlefield intelligence and escort weapons shipments to fighters in Sudan, The New York Times reported last week. During that time, the Emirates has presented itself as a champion for peace and international aid for those affected by the conflict. Famine was officially declared last month in Sudan after nearly 18 months of fighting, which has killed tens of thousands and resulted in the world's worst displacement crisis. In the letter, the Democratic lawmakers commended Biden for pushing for an end to the crisis but also wrote that "we are concerned that the UAE's actions in Sudan run counter to these actions and your stated goals of an end to the violence and freedom, peace and justice for the Sudanese people." Biden said in a statement last week that the Rapid Support Forces "must stop their assault that is disproportionately harming Sudanese civilians." His press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said last week that Biden would discuss the crisis in Sudan with the Emirati president, and that all nations "must increase efforts to open routes for humanitarian assistance and ultimately to secure a cease-fire." While the Emiratis expected discussions about the latest regional developments in Sudan, Sheikh Mohammed will also likely focus on ways the nations can collaborate. Speaking to The National, an Emirati newspaper based in Abu Dhabi, Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the Emirati president, stressed that the visit would address how the UAE wants "to realign our relationship with America for the next 10 years." "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," Gargash told The National. The Emiratis are also focused on evolving their partnership with the United States beyond the traditional framework of exchanging oil in the Gulf region for security pacts with the United States. Both nations have their eyes set on emerging artificial intelligence. Sheikh Mohammed's brother and national security adviser, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leads G42, the largest artificial intelligence company in the Middle East. Sheikh Tahnoon visited Washington in June and met with top national security officials in the Biden administration, as well as former President Barack Obama. The company has signed an agreement with prominent U.S. technology companies like Dell, Microsoft and OpenAI. But it has also prompted scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers. The bipartisan House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party asked the Commerce Department to look into whether the company should be put under trade restrictions because of its ties to China. U.S. officials fear the Emirati company could be a conduit by which American technology is siphoned to Chinese companies.

Biden and Harris to Meet With Emirati President in Washington

Zolan Kanno-Youngs covers the White House and reported from Washington. Ismaeel Naar reported from Dubai. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will host Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the president of the United Arab Emirates, at the White House on Monday against the backdrop of violence in Gaza, civil war in Sudan and the development of artificial intelligence. The meetings will be the first visit by an Emirati president to American soil since the Emirates was founded in 1971. Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris will hold separate meetings with Sheikh Mohammed. The Emirates has helped evacuate critically wounded or sick Gazans from the strip and is considered a critical partner in the eventual rebuilding of the Palestinian territory after the war between Israel and Hamas. The Emirates said last week that it would refuse to support any postwar reconstruction efforts in Gaza without a clear plan for the establishment of a Palestinian state. "The United Arab Emirates is not ready to support the day after the war in Gaza without the establishment of a Palestinian state," Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the U.A.E. foreign minister, wrote on social media last week. But the White House has also faced pressure from American lawmakers in recent months to scrutinize the Emirates on multiple issues. On Friday, five Democrats issued an open letter calling on the Biden administration to raise concerns with the Emirates over its covert support for paramilitary fighters in Sudan. The Emirates has flown advanced military drones to provide the paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, with battlefield intelligence and escort weapons shipments to fighters in Sudan, The New York Times reported last week. During that time, the Emirates has presented itself as a champion for peace and international aid for those affected by the conflict. Famine was officially declared last month in Sudan after nearly 18 months of fighting, which has killed tens of thousands and resulted in the world's worst displacement crisis.

Biden, Harris meet UAE leader Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed on Sudan, Middle East

U.S. President Joe Biden met UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Monday (September 23, 2024) for talks on conflicts in the Middle East and Sudan -- despite concerns over the Gulf power's own role in the Sudan conflict. Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris also met the Emirati leader at the White House, the first ever visit in Washington by a president of the oil-rich monarchy. India to get first national security semiconductor fabrication plant as part of collaboration with U.S. In a joint statement after their meeting, Mr. Biden and Sheikh Mohamed said they "shared concern about the risk of imminent atrocities" as fighting continues in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region. The two leaders also called for an "immediate" ceasefire in the brutal civil war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and a return to the political process. But their statement made no reference to the fact that Sudan has repeatedly accused the UAE itself of backing the RSF, which the United States accuses of carrying out crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing in Darfur. Instead the statement said that "all parties to the conflict (in Sudan) must comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law." Their meeting came before the UN General Assembly in New York was due to debate the 17-month conflict this week, especially the fighting in the devastated city of El-Fasher. Ms. Harris, who met the UAE president separately, "raised her deep concerns about the conflict in Sudan," her office said. Joe Biden hails PM Modi's Ukraine trip, lauds India's global role Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza after the October 7 attacks was also a key topic, with the UAE expected to be a key contributor to the Gaza Strip's eventual post-war reconstruction. Mr. Biden, 81, who is in his final months as president, said after shaking hands with Sheikh Mohamed they were going to "discuss our efforts to end the war in Gaza and a number of issues." He said he had been briefed on developments in Lebanon, where Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds had killed 356 people, and that he was "working to de-escalate" the situation. Mr. Biden also hailed relations with the UAE, describing it as a "nation of trailblazers, always looking to the future, always making big bets" and saying it was about to become a "major defense partner" of the United States. For its part, the UAE has put a different spin on the visit, saying it is aimed at highlighting economic and technological cooperation, particularly on AI, as it seeks to pivot its economy from oil. Kamala Harris campaign reports spending nearly three times as much as Donald Trump in August Presidential advisor Anwar Gargash said the Emiratis were thinking "economy first" in their "strategic relationship" with the United States. Mr. Gargash said last week that the UAE's ties with the United States were "our most important strategic relationship," even as "sometimes people like to talk about some tensions in the relationship." The UAE also has close ties with Russia and refused to condemn the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Published - September 24, 2024 10:04 am IST Read Comments