STARMER MEETS UAE PRESIDENT IN ABU DHABI VISIT- Starmer Holds Bilateral Meeting with UAE President
Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with the United Arab Emirates president today, marking his first trip to the region since taking office, seeking stronger economic and defence ties with the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
The prime minister held a bilateral meeting with the UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The statement released said stability in the Middle East is expected to be “high up the agenda” during the visit, including the pressing need for a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza, the release of all hostages, and the urgent acceleration of aid into Gaza.
“There is huge untapped potential in this region,” said Starmer, who is aiming to secure investment from wealthy Gulf states to help fund his mission to rebuild Britain’s ageing infrastructure and shift to cleaner energy.
Starmer also stated that he will be making the case to accelerate progress on the Gulf Cooperation Council Free Trade Agreement, deepen research and development collaboration and partner on projects of the future.
The government counts both the Gulf monarchies as major investors, with trade between Britain and the UAE worth 23 billion pounds and that with Saudi Arabia estimated at 17 billion pounds.
Starmer will travel to Cyprus to meet President Nikos Christodoulides tomorrow, the first bilateral visit by a British leader to the Commonwealth country in over five decades, to discuss closer cooperation on shared security challenges in the region.
