US, UAE launch strategic dialogue on Gulf security

WASHINGTON, 7 November — The United States and the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday launched a "strategic dialogue" that aims to improve security cooperation between the two countries and boost security in the Gulf.

Senior US and Emirati officials met at the State Department to inaugurate the new dialogue following a meeting with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamdan ibn Zayed and US Secretary of State Colin Powell, department spokesman Richard Boucher said.

"The United Arab Emirates has been a trusted friend in the region and critical partner in our efforts to promote regional stability and to advance the campaign against international terrorism," Boucher said. "We appreciate their solid efforts in this regard, and the strategic dialogue demonstrates our mutual commitment at the highest levels of our governments to advancing our already extensive bilateral relationship."

Boucher declined to elaborate on the specifics of the strategic dialogue but did say Washington had not asked the UAE for the use of any of its facilities in the event of a possible US military operation in Iraq.

"Speculation about the use of bases for such action would be premature at this point," he said, stressing that President George W. Bush has not yet decided on what course of action to take to force Iraq to disarm.

UAE President Sheikh Zayed ibn Sultan Al-Nahyan is on record as insisting on the need "to apply international laws to resolve conflicts" including that with Iraq.

During a two-day visit by Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri to the UAE last month, the president called for "peaceful dialogue and wisdom to avoid a war that will be devastating for all parties, including the winner," the WAM news agency reported.

The conversation between Powell and Zayed, which preceded the opening of the strategic dialogue dealt mainly with regional security, counter-terrorism cooperation and export controls, Boucher said.

The discussion also looked at the status of a US resolution on Iraq that Washington hopes the UN Security Council will adopt by the end of the week. (AFP)