00:08Minister, we're now into the second week of this conflict.
00:10A conflict you did not start, but not necessarily you can end.
00:14You've been dragged into it.
00:16How do you move forward from here and how does this come to a conclusion?
00:20Thank you, Toby, for having me.
00:21I think as you've said, and you yourself live here with your family,
00:25life has pretty much gone back to near normal in the UAE.
00:28So we've had an incredibly challenging 14 days.
00:31We're two weeks into this conflict that, as you said, we did not want to be drawn into.
00:35In fact, we were very engaged in diplomatic efforts prior to this escalation
00:40to try and avoid a conflict in the region.
00:42But now that it has happened, I think the UAE has demonstrated two or three things.
00:47First of all, that it prioritizes the protection, the security and the well-being
00:52of its resident and Emirati population.
00:54Our UAE air defense systems are best in class.
00:59They're honed over decades of investment practice in real battles around the world
01:06as part of coalitions to counter everything from terrorism,
01:09to stabilize conflict settings like the Balkans,
01:12to liberate Kuwait in Libya, in Afghanistan.
01:17And so I think you see that the UAE armed forces have kept our communities
01:21and our residents safe.
01:23Second, you've seen that our economy is very resilient.
01:26So people are back at work.
01:28We will have a bounce back in our economy this year.
01:30I have no doubt about that.
01:32It is a safe place to work and do business.
01:34And thirdly, you see that everyone has rallied around the model
01:38that is being attacked in the UAE and the Gulf
01:41as islands of stability and prosperity.
01:43No one is signed up to the model that Iran is propagating
01:47with its illegal and unlawful attacks on all the Gulf region,
01:52which have been egregious.
01:54And this was rebuked resoundingly by the UN Security Council resolution
01:58that was adopted the day before yesterday.
02:02A hundred and thirty six countries co-sponsored that UN Security Council resolutions
02:06that called these attacks unlawful, that called on Iran to stop,
02:10and that called on Iran that it had obligations to keep the Straits of Hormuz open.
02:15Iran is isolated on the world stage.
02:18Talk about the attacks.
02:19At the moment, the UAE is defending itself and trying to prevent a regional conflict.
02:24How difficult is that balance?
02:26I think the priority right now is defending the country against these attacks
02:31and ensuring it doesn't disrupt normal life.
02:33But of course, we have been preparing for various scenarios
02:37in a very turbulent region for decades.
02:38So these are not new plans.
02:40We have had contingency plans in place since prior to this point.
02:46You remember in Dubai, the Houthi attacks on the 17th of January in 2022.
02:52This kind of asymmetric warfare was something that we have built into our system.
02:57We've also built into our system resilience in our food supply,
03:01in our market supply, in our access to global goods.
03:04We are a global logistics hub.
03:06We connect destinations from Dubai, for example, to over 155 destinations around the world.
03:12Our economy is structurally sound and honed over decades.
03:17So I think you will see this economy and this country come through this stronger
03:21because we adapt.
03:22We're not only resilient, we adapt to crisis and we adapt to change.
03:26We take the safety and security of the 500,000 European residents, for example, who reside here.
03:34And I know that's a domestic audience that you are also speaking to incredibly seriously.
03:40And I think our trade ties with Europe at 65 billion euros a year is a robust signal that we
03:49are also open for investment.
03:51So we're negotiating a free trade agreement with the European Union at the moment.
03:55European partners have come in to assist us and to also protect their own communities here in the UAE.
04:01I want to just touch on that European part that you mentioned.
04:04I understand from sources that, you know, the French, the Italians and others are involved.
04:10In those conversations with governments from the region, what has been your message to them?
04:15The Europeans have been incredibly supportive, not only because of the resident communities here that they are also trying to
04:22assist,
04:23but because of the strong partnerships and relationships that we have invested in over the years with European allies and
04:29partners.
04:30And so His Highness the President has received over 100 phone calls from around the world.
04:35But 40 countries, 41 countries actually from Europe, co-sponsored this UN Security Council resolution in 2018-17.
04:42And the EU has come out with a strong statement welcoming the adoption of this resolution.
04:47I think, you know, the High Representative, Kaya Callas, has called for a meeting a couple of times with all
04:53of us in the region.
04:54We've had a number of dialogues with her.
04:55President Ursula van der Leyen has also had at the head of state level consultations with a number of us
05:01in the region
05:02and directly with the Highness Sheikh Mohammed.
05:04We're in constant touch.
05:05There's constant support.
05:06There is a lot of offers for assistance.
05:09And we're grateful for that partnership.
05:11And we are definitely doubling down on our engagement with Europe.
05:16In terms of Europe and the partners that are helping, without compromising national security or elements like that,
05:22how are you protecting the nation and how are the international partners involved?
05:26We're in a state of high alert here in the UAE.
05:30But the partnerships are, you know, I think important as part of the grid and the layering,
05:35a multi-layering air defense system that we have here in place in the country.
05:40The primary brunt of the work is, of course, done by the UAE Armed Defense Forces.
05:46And I'd like to pay tribute to the incredible work they have been doing in keeping us all safe.
05:51But not just in keeping us safe, but in allowing our national airlines, Emirates and Itihad,
05:56to go up to 50 percent return to normalcy in Emirates, for example.
06:01And Itihad is also on its way up.
06:04You will see that in terms of stranded passengers, the majority who have wanted to leave have left.
06:10Many have chosen to stay and continue their holidays here.
06:13And the residents of the UAE, I think, have really rallied around the idea that this is their home.
06:18They have planted roots here.
06:20They feel protected by the government here.
06:22The government also represents them.
06:24So I think all in all, we've had a challenging experience.
06:28But what our air defense system has shown is that it's best in class.
06:32You mentioned France.
06:33You mentioned Italy, the United Kingdom also, and others who have offered and who are coming in to work with
06:40us in this challenging time.
06:42But they're not coming in because they are protecting UAE interests.
06:46I think they're coming in because they recognize that UAE interests are, in fact, global interests.
06:53They're, of course, the wider regional stability of Europe and the Mediterranean is incredibly important.
06:58But globally, the Straits of Hormuz, a fifth of the world's energy supplies, passes through that narrow waterway.
07:05And this has an impact on not only global energy prices, but global food security and food supplies.
07:12The UN has estimated that there's been an 18% increase in their ability to give aid to those most
07:18in need in terms of food insecurity, for example, as a result of this.
07:22So Iran must not be allowed to hold the global economy hostage by its rogue state behavior.
07:30Now, if you see you're one of many countries impacted here, but what role can the UAE play from both
07:35an energy perspective and perhaps food security, too?
07:38Well, I think the UAE continues to be a global logistics hub in both all our ports and our airports,
07:46in our humanitarian city for the supply of food and essential goods and humanitarian aid around the world.
07:53That's first and foremost. And that has not been and will not be interrupted by these challenges that Iran is
08:00posing to the region.
08:01Secondly, I think in terms of energy supply, we are a responsible and committed supplier to the global energy market,
08:08and we will continue to do what we can.
08:10But we are also very frank with our partners, as have other suppliers in the region been, that unless UN
08:18Security Council Resolution 2817 is enforced and it is binding on Iran that they abide by it,
08:24there are going to be implications for global energy prices, and that will also impact bills in grocery stores, bills
08:36in petrol stations, the price of food.
08:40So it's important today that Europe understand, and this would be my message to my European friends and partners, first
08:47and foremost, thank you.
08:47We're grateful to you. We're grateful to the community of Europeans living here who call this place home.
08:52We're proud of the resilience and the adaptability that you've shown in these challenging times.
08:58We're proud, as our president has said, to call you partners of the UAE in our nation-building enterprise.
09:03But secondly, what you are defending here is not only the UAE.
09:07What you are defending here is a model.
09:10It's a model of coexistence, of tolerance, of peace for the wider region.
09:15So if you're against those things, then you are in the camp of Iran and these rogue state actors that
09:23are trying to export nihilism to the whole international system.
09:27I don't think we can allow that to happen on our watch.
09:29Do you think in some ways, because obviously this has always been a nation of peace, it's a tourist destination,
09:33it's a business hub.
09:35In some ways, do you think what's happening now will change this country or this region forever?
09:41We grew from a pearl diving economy into a global exporter, not only of hydrocarbons, but of commodity, of foreign
09:49direct investment, of clean energy, of AI.
09:53We're a country that is looking to an AI future.
09:55We've got a $1.5 trillion investment with the United States in AI data centers.
10:01We've got similar investments in Europe, in Italy and France, in AI data centers.
10:06We're building those here.
10:07We're an economy of the future.
10:09We always adapt in crisis.
10:11We respond.
10:12We're flexible.
10:13We don't promise that the regional environment can be entirely controlled.
10:18It cannot.
10:19I think that's a false promise.
10:20But we do promise that we will keep our country safe.
10:24We will keep our residents safe.
10:25In terms of Emirates and Etihad, you know, you've got these messages from the international community saying,
10:30quick, get on these emergency flights, yet at the same time you hear from people here that the flights at
10:36times are half empty and there's plenty of capacity.
10:38How hard is it from your perspective when some international audiences are saying one thing and yet the reality is
10:44completely different?
10:45When this broke out, some passengers and tourists opted to leave.
10:49Many opted to stay.
10:50As you said, some of these flights are half empty.
10:53But I think some governments, for domestic reasons, felt compelled to show that they were offering that service to the
11:01UAE.
11:01A number of other European countries called us up and said, look, we know the best way out of the
11:06UAE is for the airlines to be fully operational.
11:09We'll do everything to help make that happen.
11:12And I think you'll see that actually the numbers have dwindled.
11:14What needs to happen is Iran needs to desist from its attacks, needs to understand that it cannot behave as
11:21a regional bully.
11:22It needs to understand that it is isolated on the international stage, that the model here is resilient, that it's
11:27tough, that it's adaptable and that we will overcome this.
11:30But they may not if they don't choose to go to the negotiating table at some point with the United
11:35States and find a compromise out of this.
11:38We are always for, in the future, diplomatic solutions to conflicts.
11:43We don't believe in military escalation, but we're tough when what we have fought so hard to build is challenged.
11:49And we will be tough through this.
11:51Thank you, Your Excellency.
11:52Thank you.
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