Harris told reporters after the meeting she made the trip on behalf of President Joe Biden and the American people “to extend our condolences to a friend and partner, the United Arab Emirates” and to the new UAE President, Sheikh, to congratulate Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Sheikh Khalifa, whose modernization policies helped turn his country into a regional powerhouse, died on Friday at the age of 73.
Harris said she reaffirmed the US commitment to “security and prosperity in this region” and spoke about “how the American people have benefited from this relationship.”
The Vice President was joined on the high-profile trip by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, CIA Director Bill Burns and the President’s Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry.
The White House said the US Embassy Abu Dhabi chargé d’affaires Sean Murphy will also be attending the trip; Harris National Security Advisor Phil Gordon; Brett McGurk, National Security Council Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa; and NSC Senior Director, Middle East and North Africa, Barbara Leaf.
The addition of several other senior Biden administration officials to the delegation signals U.S. efforts to ease recent tensions between the two countries, which have risen after a drone strike by Houthi rebels on Abu Dhabi in January that killed three people came. The United Arab Emirates has been pushing for the Biden administration to redesignate the Houthis as a terrorist organization after Biden reversed the Trump-era designation.
Biden has called the late UAE leader “a true partner and friend of the United States”. He said in a statement, “The United States is committed to honoring the memory of the late President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan by continuing to strengthen the strategic partnership between our countries in the months and years to come.”
Sheikh Mohammed, his brother, was unanimously elected president by the country’s Supreme Council, according to the UAE’s official news agency. Sheikh Mohammed was widely seen as the UAE’s de facto leader, handling day-to-day affairs for the Gulf state, while Sheikh Khalifa’s role has been largely ceremonial since he suffered a stroke and underwent surgery in 2014.