Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

Senior UK politician praises UAE’s ‘quiet leadership’ securing Mideast peace

Senior UK politician praises UAE’s ‘quiet leadership’ securing Mideast peace

A senior British politician has praised the UAE for its role in “discreetly shaping peace and stability” in the Middle East and North Africa.
Tobias Ellwood, a former government minister and chair of the UK Defence Select Committee, said Britain needs to work closely with the UAE, calling it a “loyal ally” and “a worthy member of the UN Security Council.”

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, he highlighted the UAE’s “quiet leadership” in a region where “diplomatic momentum has been all but lost, but stability is vital.”

He noted that changing priorities among the world’s major powers means the US risks causing a “vacuum” in the region as it withdraws further from its involvement there.

The UAE, Ellwood said, is doing its bit to responsibly temper that vacuum, engaging in a “mature” approach to politics since it signed the Abraham Accords in 2020 normalizing ties with Israel, playing a “long game” by “working for consensus and good neighbourliness.”

He noted how the UAE has sought to improve trade with Israel, citing a recent deal to reduce 96 percent of all tariffs between the two countries, and how it is seeking to promote religious tolerance, highlighting the recent opening of the Abrahamic House religious center in Abu Dhabi earlier this year.

Ellwood also praised the UAE’s commitment to humanitarian work in the region, writing about its “unprecedented” role in donating huge sums of aid, and persuading the Syrian government to cooperate in alleviating suffering by opening humanitarian corridors after the recent earthquake that struck the country and neighboring Turkiye earlier this year.

“Those bold moves changed the dynamic in the region,” Ellwood said. “And so, last month, after years of frosty relations, the UAE signed a trade deal with Turkey that could double trade to $40 billion in five years.”

As well as improving relations with Israel and Turkiye, Ellwood also touched upon how the UAE is seeking a peaceful path forward with Iran.

“Differences remain strong, but even so the Emiratis have extended a cautious welcome and invited the Iranian president to visit the UAE, which would be the first since 2007,” he said.

“In the absence of any superpower strategy, the UAE appears to be adopting a policy of constructive engagement towards its traditional rivals and foes: Israel, Qatar, Turkey and Iran.

“Slowly and surely, the Emiratis are opening communication, expanding diplomatic and mediation efforts, and avoiding confrontation.”

Ellwood noted the UAE’s leading role in tackling climate change, through its capacity as host of the COP28 Summit later this year, and its $100 billion deal with Washington to pursue clean energy sources worth “100 gigawatts globally by 2035.”

The UK’s relations with the UAE, Ellwood added, have brought significant progress and investment.

“The Emiratis are ploughing hundreds of millions into UK life science investments, all with little fanfare,” he said.

“On Monday, foreign ministers of both countries are meeting to review the progress of the UAE-UK Sovereign Investment Partnership (SIP) which is investing millions in key innovation-led sectors: technology, infrastructure, healthcare and life sciences, and clean and renewable energy,” Ellwood added.

“Normalising relations with Israel, offering a tentative, exploratory hand to Iran, investing in the UK’s future and signing the world’s biggest deal with the US to promote sustainability among nations worst hit by climate change: This is grown-up politics conducted delicately and without seeking approval or spotlight.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Syria Holds First Elections Since Fall of Assad
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
×