Crisis Chronology | United Arab Emirates (uae)

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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE)

01/08/2024

On a trip to the Mideast, US Secretary of State says that several Arab nations have expressed interest in helping plan for Gaza in the post war including: Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.

01/01/2024

Ethiopia agrees to recognize Somaliland in exchange for a lease on 20 km of coastline. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somali objects. The proposed deal has been backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which remains a strong supporter of Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy.

08/24/2023

At BRICS summit meeting, the group invites six countries to become members: Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

11/12/2022

US intelligence issues report on extensive efforts by the UAE, both legal and illegal, to influence US policy toward itself. The UAE does not deny the effort, nor confirm it. It is an unusual report in that it details subversive activity by an ostensible ally, not an enemy nation.

09/29/2022

Voting for the National Assembly. All candidates run as independents. The previous parliament was dismissed after the Crown Prince Sheik Meshal criticized it for practices not conducive to national unity.

09/23/2022

Israel to supply the UAE with air defense systems for protection against Houthi attacks.

07/28/2022

Extremely unusual heavy rain and flooding in July in Qatar and the UAE.

05/31/2022

Israel and UAE agree to a free trade pact.

05/14/2022

New president named

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, known as MBZ, half-brother of Sheik Khalifa, is named president.

05/13/2022

President dies

Government announces that President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has died. He has rarely been seen since his stroke in 2014. His brother, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, who has been the de facto ruler since Sheikh Khalif for some time, is seen as his likely successor. However, under the constitution, Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, will act as president until the federal council, composed of the rulers of the seven emirates, meets to elect a new president, which it must do within thirty days.

04/25/2022

Leaders of Egypt, Jordan, and the UAE meet to discuss tension in Jerusalem and call on Israel and the Palestinian Authority to stop measures that undermine the two-state solution and return to serious negotiations.

04/07/2022

Hadi transfers power

President Hadi transfers his powers to the new Presidential Leadership Council and dismisses Vice President Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, an Islamist-leaning general, who is resented by the Houthis for military campaigns in their northern stronghold and by some southerners for his role in the 1994 north-south civil war. Saudi Arabia pledges $3 billion in aid for the country. The leadership council will be headed by Rashad al-Alimi, an adviser to Hadi and former interior minister with the government of late President Ali Abdullah Saleh. There are The council has seven other members, all of whom have political and military influence on the ground in Yemen, including Aydarous al-Zubaidi, head of the secessionist Southern Transitional Council — an umbrella group of heavily armed and well-financed militias supported by the UAE since 2015, and Sheikh Sultan al-Aradah, the powerful governor of energy-rich Marib province, and Tariq Saleh, who has close ties with the UAE and is a militia leader and nephew of Ali Abdullah Saleh.

03/27/2022

Israel hosts meeting with representatives of Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, the UAE, and the US.

02/06/2022

Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani meets Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of a lunch hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping, their first meeting since the blockade of Qatar by other Arab states in 2017.

02/03/2022

A little-known group in Iraq, the True Promise Brigades, claims responsibility for drone attacks in the UAE on 2/2/22, in retaliation for the UAE policies in Iraq and Yemen.

01/31/2022

Houthis threaten further missile attacks on UAE.

01/23/2022

Saudi coalition makes multiple airstrikes in Yemen in retaliation for Houthi drone attack on the UAE.

01/16/2022

Houthi drone strikes UAE, setting oil tankers on fire and killing three. Saudi coalition retaliates.

12/13/2021

Israeli prime minister Bennet meets with UAE crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the first official visit of an Israeli prime minister to the UAE.

12/07/2021

Government announces four-and-a-half-day workweek, with Friday afternoon, Saturday, and Sunday off. Most Muslim countries have a Friday-Saturday weekend. The move brings the UAE into line with western countries and the change is intended to make the country more efficient as well as improving the quality of life.

09/16/2021

UAE to invest billion pounds in the UK infrastructure, energy and technology.

08/18/2021

Former Afghan president Ghani in UAE. He insists he did not take money out of the country. Abdul Ghani Baradar, leader of the Taliban, arrives in Kandahar.

04/23/2021

Houthis advancing on Marib, a key gateway to Yemen’s oil and gas wealth. They have taken encouragement from the US’s decision to take them off the terrorist list. The UAE supports the Hadi government, but gains trade from instability because it shifts shipping from Aden to Dubai.

02/25/2021

India and Pakistan agree to stop cross-border shooting. The landmark agreement was brokered by the United Arab Emirates, according to reports a week later.

01/05/2021

Qatar blockade ended

Saudi Arabia announces that the Gulf states -- Kuwait, Bahrein, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates – along with Egypt have agreed to end their blockade of and restore full diplomatic ties with Qatar in an agreement on “solidarity and stability” for the region.

01/05/2021

Qatar blockade ended

12/09/2020

India army chief visits UAE and Saudi Arabia to discuss “strategic and defence cooperation,” the first visit by an Indian head of the military.

08/25/2020

The UAE cancels talk with the US and Israel after Netanyahu criticizes US weapons sale to the UAE.

08/14/2020

UAE and Israel agree on normalization of diplomatic ties. Israwel agrees to refrain from further annexation in the West Bank until after the US election in November.

06/05/2020

Blockade of Qatar remains in effect.

02/23/2020

Government reports outbreak of COVID-19 virus.

02/12/2020

After the UN Security Council passes a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Libya, Hiftar’s forces say they will not allow the UN to use the only functioning airport in Tripoli. The UN has said that flight restrictions are hampering humanitarian efforts in Libya. Though Hiftar has not been able to breach Tripoli’s defenses, he has air superiority because of UAE-supplied drones, which cover all of Libya. Turkey has supplied the Tripoli government with drones. Libyan army denies that they are blocking UN planes, saying that the planes can land at Misrata, but they will not allow landings at an airport “controlled by a colonizer (Turkey).”

11/13/2019

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE announce that they will participate in the Arabian Gulf Cup to be held in Qatar, a signal of thawing relations. The attack on Aramco in September has moved Saudi Arabia toward a more cooperative approach.

10/13/2019

Government says that Saudi troops have taken control of Aden from the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council.

10/05/2019

Elections for Federal National Council of the twenty indirectly elected members. The 20 elected members are elected by votes in seven electoral colleges in the regional emirates in the UAE. Half of the members must be women, per 2018 decree. Turnout is low.

08/15/2019

US, Israel, and UAE in secret talks on confronting Iran.

07/07/2019

UAE pulling some troops out of Yemen.

05/13/2019

UAE reports that four of its commercial vessels suffered damage in th Gulf of Oman en route to Saudi Arabia to pick up oil to be shipped to the US. Some suspect that Iran is responsible, which it denies.

05/13/2019

01/31/2019

Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and UAE meet “to align policy.”

12/27/2018

UAE announces that it will reopen its embassy in Syria.

12/03/2018

Qatar says it will leave OPEC, although it says the move is not related to its feud with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other states participating in the blockade.

07/23/2018

International Court of Justice rules that the UAE boycott of Qatar and expelling Qataris from the UAE violates the international convention on racial discrimination. The court orders several changes in practice without ending the boycott.

07/14/2018

There are reports that a prince, second son of Emir of Fujairah (one of the seven monarchies that make up the UAE, sought refuge in Qatar in 5/18 because he fears for his life in a dispute with the rulers of Abu Dhabi. The man, Sheikh Rashid bin Hamad al-Sharqi, has accused the rulers of blackmail and money laundering. He also describes tensions among the emirates about the Yemen war because Abu Dhabi did not consult with the other emirs before committing troops.

07/10/2018

Swiss prosecutor investigating two officials of a Saudi energy company and two UAE investment fund officials in connection with Malaysian 1MDB fund.

06/24/2018

Prime Minister Mulki resigns. King Abdullah asks an economist, Omar al-Razzazz, to form a new government. Several dozen protestors are arrested carrying weapons, but it is uncertain whether protests will continue.

06/23/2018

OPEC agrees to increase production, a pledge that will be fulfilled by countries with spare capacity, notably Algeria, Kuwait, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

06/11/2018

Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Kuwait pledge $2.5 billion in aid to Jordan, both to mitigate austerity measures and for some development projects.

06/11/2018

Qatar takes UAE to International Court of Justice, charging the blockade creates human rights violations of Qataris.

06/01/2018

Russia and UAE conclude a declaration of strategic partnership, a first for Russia in the Gulf. The two countries share many interests and aims, and the agreement solidifies Russia’s role in the Middle East. The UAE may also be seeking Russia’s help in extricating itself and Saudi Arabia from Yemen, given Russia’s link to Iran. It is also the first anniversary of the Arab blockade of Qatar, which has attempted to improve relations with Russia.

01/29/2018

Court upholds jail term sentence for Shiite spiritual leader Sheikh Isa Qassim, convicted of money laundering and illegal fundraising and criticized for attempting to destabilize the government. Qassim, who has been under house arrest since his citizenship was revoked in 2016, was a leader of the 2011 protests.

01/27/2018

Yemen bans public gatherings in Aden. Separatists, the Southern Transitional Council (allied with the UAE), had demanded that the government remake the cabinet by 1/28.

01/15/2018

Qatari Shaik Abudullah bin Ali Al Thani, of the royal family complains that he is being held in the UAE against his will. The UAE denies this.

01/03/2018

There are reports that deceased Yemen leader Ali Abdullah Saleh’s nephew Tareq is still alive, despite reports of his death, and is living in the UAE.

12/02/2017

Shafiq travels to Egypt, says he is still considering running for president.

12/02/2017

Former Yemen president Saleh, whose camp has been fighting with the Houthis, says that he ready to negotiate with the opposing side, supported by the Saudi coalition, while fighting continues. There are reports that the UAE convinced Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman that breaking the Houthi-Saleh alliance would end the war.