United Arab Emirates–United States relations

Emirati-American relations

United Arab Emirates
United States
Diplomatic Mission
Emirati Embassy, Washington, D.C. United States Embassy, Abu Dhabi

United Arab Emirates–United States relations are bilateral relations between United Arab Emirates and the United States.

Country Comparison

United Arab Emirates United States
Population 8,264,070 321,747,000
Area 83,600 km2 (32,278 sq mi) 9,826,630 km2 (3,794,066 sq mi)
Population Density 99/km2 (256/sq mi) 31/km2 (80/sq mi)
Capital Abu Dhabi Washington, D.C.
Largest City Dubai – 2,106,177 New York City – 8,175,133 (18,897,109 Metro)
Government Federal Presidential Absolute Monarchy Federal presidential constitutional republic
First Leader Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan George Washington
Current Leader Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Barack Obama
Official languages Arabic None at federal level (English is most spoken)
Main religions 76% Islam, 15% Christianity, 5% Hindu, 5% Atheism 75% Christianity, 20% non-Religious, 2% Judaism, 1% Islam, 1% Buddhism
Ethnic groups 16.6% Emirati (citizenry), 42.3% South Asian, 23.0% other Arabs, 12.1% other Asian, 6.0% other expatriates 74% White American, 14.8% Hispanic and Latino Americans (of any race),
13.4% Black American, 6.5% Some other race, 4.4% Asian American,
2.0% Two or more races, 0.68% American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.14% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
GDP (nominal) US$358.940 billion($64,840 per capita) US$14.441 trillion ($47,440 per capita)
Military expenditures ---- $663.7 billion (FY 2010) [1]
Currency UAE Dirham (AED) United States Dollar ($) (USD)

Diplomatic Relations

The United States was the third country to establish formal diplomatic relations with the UAE and has had an ambassador resident in the UAE since 1974. The two countries have enjoyed friendly relations with each other and have developed strong government-to-government ties including a close security cooperation. The quality of U.S.-UAE relations increased dramatically as a result of the U.S.-led coalition's campaign to end the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait. UAE ports host more U.S. Navy ships than any port outside the U.S.

Principal U.S. officials in Abu Dhabi include:

Leading the UAE Embassy in Washington, DC is Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba, who presented his credentials in July 2008.

Bilateral Nuclear Cooperation Agreement

Main article: Section 123 Agreement

Signing and Authorization of the Agreement

On January 15, 2009, His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates, and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed a bilateral agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation that enhances international standards of nuclear non-proliferation.[2]

President Barack Obama subsequently endorsed the agreement and submitted it to Congress on May 20, 2009 for the mandatory 90-day review.[3] After a hearing on Capitol Hill in July 2009, leaders of the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations Committees issued resolutions supporting the US-UAE nuclear cooperation agreement."[4]

Potential Impediment to Approval

On April 23, 2009, ABC News released a video of UAE Royal Sheikh Issa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, "the crown prince's brother torturing a man, allegedly because he cheated him on a grain deal."[5] On April 29, 2009, CNN reported that the controversy over the torture tape was delaying the ratification of the US-UAE nuclear agreement.[6] Ultimately, the tape didn't end up holding up the agreement, which was officially submitted to Congress by President Obama in May 2009[7] and endorsed by key Congressional leaders in the subsequent months.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy10/pdf/budget/defense.pdf
  2. ↑ "The United Arab Emirates and the United States Sign Bilateral Agreement for Peaceful Nuclear Energy Cooperation". www.uae-embassy.org. Archived from the original on January 26, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
  3. ↑ White House: Office of the Press Secretary Press Release
  4. ↑ House Committee on Foreign Affairs, July 14, 2009
  5. ↑ "ABC News Exclusive: Torture Tape Implicates UAE Royal Sheikh", ABC News, 20 April 2009
  6. ↑ "Torture tape delays U.S.-UAE nuclear deal, say U.S. officials", by Elise Labott, CNN, April 29, 2009
  7. ↑ White House: Office of the Press Secretary Press Release

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Department of State (Background Notes).

External links

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