On Sunday, world leaders began arriving in the United Arab Emirates to pay respects to President Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who was succeeded by his half-brother and de facto ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.
Sheikh Mohammed, the ruler of the opulent Abu Dhabi emirate, guided the Western-allied Gulf state, an OPEC oil producer and regional economic powerhouse, for years before being elected the UAE’s third president on Saturday by the federal supreme council.
Emmanuel Macron, whose country has lucrative commercial and military relations with the UAE, arrived in Abu Dhabi and paid tribute to Sheikh Khalifa’s “values of peace, openness, and discussion” in a Twitter post.
The president of Israel, with whom the UAE established links two years ago in a dramatic realignment of the Middle East that drew Palestinian ire, as well as the Palestinian president and Britain’s prime minister, were all scheduled to arrive on Sunday.
Vice President Kamala Harris will be representing US President Joe Biden, whose government has had tense relations with the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
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On Saturday, other Arab leaders paid their respects, including Jordan’s monarch and Egypt’s president. A delegation was dispatched by Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, whose father, King Salman, was admitted to hospital a week ago.
Sheikh Mohammed, often known as MbZ, has been a driving force in Middle East politics, advocating Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the West as he ascended to power and battling political Islam across the region, which is seen as a danger to Gulf dynastic authority.
As Gulf governments increasingly questioned the regional commitment of longtime security guarantor the United States, MbZ strengthened connections with Russia and China. The Ukraine war exposed tensions in US-Emirati relations, as Gulf governments declined to support Western friends in isolating Russia.
Abu Dhabi has also attempted to engage with Iran and Turkey after years of animosity, as the UAE focuses on economic growth amid increased regional rivalry and a global shift away from hydrocarbons, the UAE’s lifeblood.
