DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates is reassessing its role and contributions in multilateral organizations but is not considering further withdrawals at this time, a UAE official said. Reuters on Wednesday, a day after Abu Dhabi announced its withdrawal from OPEC.
The Emirati official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the country is broadly reviewing the usefulness of its membership in multilateral organizations.
The statement comes amid intense speculation that Abu Dhabi could exit other regional bodies, including the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), following its surprise decision to leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and OPEC+ from May 1.
The comments add to a broader reassessment of alliances taking place in Abu Dhabi since the start of the war with Iran, with the GCC facing some criticism for what Abu Dhabi has called an inadequate response to the conflict.
“It is true that logistically the GCC countries supported each other, but politically and militarily I think their position was the weakest in history,” a senior UAE official, Anwar Gargash, said at a conference in the UAE on Monday.
“I expected such a weak position from the Arab League, and I am not surprised, but I did not expect it from the GCC, and it does surprise me.”
Gargash had previously noted that the UAE would “scrutinize” its regional and international relations to “determine who can be trusted”, combining that review with measures to strengthen the UAE’s economic and financial position.
“Strategic autonomy remains the UAE’s enduring choice,” Gargash said.
The United Arab Emirates is a regional commercial and financial center and one of Washington’s most important allies. It has pursued an assertive foreign policy and created its own sphere of influence throughout the Middle East and Africa.
