Key Areas of Bilateral Cooperation

Located at a critical strategic position bordering the Arabian Gulf, the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Hormuz, and less than 100 miles from Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is an important and reliable ally of the United States.

Economic and Trade Relations

With one of the most open and innovative economies in the world, the UAE is a dependable and substantial economic partner with the United States.

• The UAE is the United States’ single largest export market in the Middle East, with $11.64 billion in exports in 2010.
• Every state in the United States exports to the UAE, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
• 750 US firms have an on-the-ground and expanding presence in the UAE.
• The UAE pegs its currency, the dirham, to the dollar.
• Through significant investments in the United States for over 30 years, the UAE has been a dependable and long-term contributor to US economy, providing liquidity to US capital markets, growth for US companies and job security for US workers.
• In 2008, the Government of Abu Dhabi initiated a global dialogue to clarify the investment principles of government-owned funds. Through this work, 23 countries have committed to operate their funds purely on commercial principles. And, as part of this commitment, the funds would adopt critical transparency measures.
• The US-UAE Business Council includes companies from both countries committed to expanding bilateral commercial opportunities.
• Boeing:  The UAE is the largest customer for Boeing commercial passenger aircraft.  Customers include Emirates Airlines, which is the world’s largest operator of 777 aircraft and the only airline to operate every Boeing model type; Etihad Airways (purchasing 45 Boeing 777 and 787 passenger jets valued at $9.4 billion); Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (100 airplanes valued at $10.9 billion); FlyDubai (54 airplanes at a catalog price of $4.2 billion); and RAK Airlines (four airplanes).
• Oil and Gas Sector:  The UAE is the only Gulf state to allow private-sector participation in its oil and gas sector.
  • ExxonMobil is a strategic partner with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).
  • Bechtel has a number of projects in the gas sector.
  • Foster Wheeler is a key contractor in the UAE gas sector, recently awarded a contract for management of a major gas complex expansion.
  • Occidental Petroleum owns 24.5 percent of the Dolphin Energy project, an initiative to import Qatari natural gas to the UAE.

Recent Transactions

• The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) invested $139 million in Hyatt Hotels Corp. (2009)
• AMD and Advanced Technology Investment Company of Abu Dhabi created GLOBALFOUNDRIES, a US-headquartered semiconductor manufacturing company that will combine advanced process technology, industry-leading manufacturing facilities and expanded global capacity, including a new, $4.6 billion semiconductor fabrication plant in upstate New York. (2009)
• A $600 million investment in South Carolina’s Orangeburg County by Dubai World’s Jafza. (2008)
• Emirates Investment and Development spent more than $150 million for an 80 percent stake in Sino Swearingen Aircraft Corporation, based in Texas. (2008)
• Abu Dhabi Investment Council purchased a 75 percent stake in New York City’s Chrysler Building. (2008)
• The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) invested $7.5 billion in Citigroup.  (2007)
• Borse Dubai, the government-controlled exchange, took a 19.9 percent stake in the NASDAQ and bought NASDAQ’s 28 percent stake in the London Stock Exchange. (2007)

Security Relations

The UAE and the United States work closely to preserve security and stability in the Gulf. US homeland security is tied directly to the UAE’s role as a source of security and stability.

• The UAE was the first country to support the United States at the advent of Desert Storm.
• The UAE has troops in Afghanistan, supporting US and NATO missions.
• A formal Defense Cooperation Agreement has been in place since 1994.

The UAE provides ongoing and essential support for US forces in the region:

• Hosting more than 2,000 US military personnel.
• Providing critical logistics support for US Navy fleet operations; US Naval vessels visited more UAE ports than any other foreign ports in the world.
• Supporting the US Air Force through critical logistics and facilities at Al Dhafra Air Base.
• Deploying UAE military forces and/or providing UAE assistance to Operation Desert Storm/Gulf War, Iraq and UN Operations in Somalia and Kosovo.
• Hosting the Joint Air Warfare Center and joint training exercises with US forces.

The UAE’s contributions to the fight against terrorism include:

• Significant intelligence cooperation with various US government agencies.
• Joint task forces on money laundering, terrorist financing, and nuclear proliferation.
• Enforcing export control laws to prevent the transshipment of sensitive goods and technologies.
• The UAE was the first Middle Eastern country to join the US Container Security Initiative, allowing US customs officers inspect US-bound cargos at UAE ports.
• The UAE is a signatory to the Proliferation Security Initiative.
• The UAE fully supports and enforces UN sanctions to contain Iranian nuclear weapons capabilities.

The UAE currently has a number of military equipment programs with the United States, including:

• Patriot PAC-3 (Raytheon and Lockheed Martin)
• HAWK Air Defense Missile System (Raytheon)
• AH-64 APACHE Helicopter Longbow (Boeing) 
• UAE Air Force Command and Control System (Northrop Grumman)
• C-130 Cargo Aircraft (Lockheed Martin)
• C-17 Aircraft (Boeing)
• F-16 E/F Advanced Fighter Aircraft (Lockheed Martin)
• Multiple weapon systems associated with F-16 E/F (Northrop Grumman, Raytheon)
• UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopters (Sikorsky Aircraft)
• High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (Lockheed Martin)
• Maverick air-to-surface missiles (Raytheon)
• In the pipeline: AVENGER, SLAMRAAM, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile system, known as THAAD. 

Working for Peace in the Region

The UAE actively promotes a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

• The UAE supports two key United Nations agencies working in the West Bank and Gaza: the UN Development Programme, (UNDP) and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). 
• The UAE Red Crescent and other UAE charitable organizations have contributed over Dh2 billion (US$544 million) to humanitarian projects in Palestine and in Syria for Palestinian refugees, including the construction of a girl's school at a refugee camp near Damascus in association with the UNRWA. 
• The Mohammed bin Rashid Foundation has built several schools, hospitals and medical centers in the Palestinian West Bank.
  cost.

The UAE also has provided significant funding and assistance to Iraq, including:

• Medical treatment for Iraqi children in the UAE at no cost.
• Training for Iraqi police in the UAE.
• Funding for reconstruction of hospitals in Iraq and a military hospital in Baghdad.
• Education for Iraqi students in the UAE on scholarship.
• Providing large quantities of humanitarian supplies to Iraq.

At the April 2009 donor conference, the UAE committed to contribute $300 million Pakistan, to alleviate poverty and battle extremism.

Social and Cultural Ties with the United States

The UAE is an innovative social investor, seeking ways to expand opportunities for UAE citizens and help address regional and global challenges.

• Women have full rights in the UAE Constitution, are well-educated and protected in the workplace. Four cabinet ministers are women—including Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of Foreign Trade, who was on Forbes magazine’s 2007 list of the 100 most powerful women in the world. The UAE has four women fighter pilots. Nearly one-quarter of its advisory parliament consists of women. And in 2008, the first female judge was sworn in.
• Through its Masdar Initiative, the UAE is investing billions of dollars in clean energy technologies.
• Partnerships encourage shared experiences, while advancing local capacity. 
  • New York University, Boston University and Rochester Institute of Technology have announced or launched programs or campuses in the UAE.
  • Faculty from Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health advises the UAE on public health and is establishing a doctoral program in the country.
  • The Cleveland Clinic, over a 15-year period, will establish, develop and operate a world-class specialty hospital and clinic, called Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.
  • The Johns Hopkins Medical School manages health care systems in Abu Dhabi.
  • Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation has a partnership with the UAE government for breast cancer education.
  • MIT is helping create the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, the region’s first graduate level, research-driven scientific institution.
   

Americans in the UAE

• More than 30,000 Americans reside in the UAE.
• There are more than 50 weekly nonstop flights to the UAE from six different US cities (Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco Washington, DC).

UAE Global Humanitarian Initiatives

The UAE’s sizeable foreign aid activities include:

• Dubai Cares, which has reached more than 4 million children in 20 countries with projects that improve access to primary education for children in developing nations.
• Funding for Tsunami Relief ($100 million); Pakistani Earthquake Relief ($100 million); Hurricane Katrina Relief ($100 million).
• Following the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti the UAE government and UAE foundations rapidly mobilized to deliver over 700 tons in food and shelter supplies to the affected region.

Additional Resources

• New Zogby poll shows UAE citizens support President Obama

Related Links

• Key Areas of UAE-US Bilateral Cooperation (PDF)