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trailblazers, always looking to the future, always making big bets” and saying it was about to become a “major defense partner” of the United States. Sheikh Mohamed said his country had an “unwavering commitment” to working with the United States and deepening the strategic partnership between the allies.

Harris also plans to discuss efforts to secure a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal in her separate meeting with the UAE leader, the first ever visit by a UAE president to the White House, the White House official said. The meeting will give Harris, the Democratic nominee for the Nov 5 presidential election, an opportunity to demonstrate national security chops at a time when the administration is under increasing pressure to contain strife in the Middle East.

The talks at the White House are also expected to include discussions on the Gulf state’s involvement in the Sudan conflict and its plans for artificial intelligence, an ambitious effort also drawing interest from US geopolitical rival China. The UAE, expected to be a key contributor to the Gaza Strip’s post-war reconstruction after the Zionist-Hamas war, also has close ties with Russia and refused to condemn the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Presidential advisor Anwar Gargash said the Emiratis, who want to reorient their economy away from oil and towards new technologies such as AI, were thinking “economy first, prosperity first” in their “strategic relationship” with the United States. Gargash said last week that the UAE’s ties with the United States were “our most important strategic relationship,” even as “sometimes people like to talk about some tensions in the relationship”. — Agencies