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

U.S. President Joe Biden and Democratic presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

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.

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.

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.

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.