DUBAI
\nA senior United Arab Emirates official called on Monday for \u201ccodified and unambivalent\u201d commitments from the United States to its security, adding it had no interest in \u201cchoosing sides\u201d.
\nThe UAE and Saudi Arabia, wary of Iran\u2019s nuclear and missiles programmes, have been strengthening links with China, a major trade partner, and Russia, a fellow member of the OPEC+ oil alliance, while the UAE has also forged ties with Israel.
\nBoth have voiced concerns about the Washington\u2019s commitment to the region and chafed at restrictions on arms sales from the United States, their main security guarantor.
\nAnwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE\u2019s president, said it needs security partners who can help build defence capabilities as it also works to ease regional tensions, focus on economic growth and collaborate on global challenges.
\n\u201cOur primary strategic security relationship remains unequivocally with the United States,\u201d Gargash said.
\n\u201cYet it is vital that we find a way to ensure that we can rely on this relationship for decades to come, through clear, codified and unambivalent commitments,\u201d he added in a speech delivered to the Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate.
\nThe UAE would continue avoiding dependence on \u201cjust one or two countries\u201d for its economic prosperity and security by maintaining balanced and diversified relations, he said.
\n\u201cThe UAE has no interest in choosing sides between great powers,\u201d Gargash added, stressing the need for measured approaches during a \u201cturbulent\u201d time in global politics.
\nThe UAE has moved away from a hawkish foreign policy that saw it wade into conflicts from Yemen to Libya as it sought to counter Iran\u2019s growing sway as well as political Islamist movements seen as a threat to the Gulf\u2019s system of rule.
\nAbu Dhabi has engaged with Tehran in a bid to manage tensions and worked to improve ties with Turkey as it focuses on development after the pandemic and at a time of rising economic competition with Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DUBAI A senior United Arab Emirates official called on Monday for \u201ccodified and unambivalent\u201d commitments from the United States to its security, adding it had no interest in \u201cchoosing sides\u201d. The UAE and Saudi Arabia, wary of Iran\u2019s nuclear and missiles programmes, have been strengthening links with China, a major trade partner, and Russia, a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295451,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-295433","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n