The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council hosted a luncheon conversation on Thursday, February 8, with Major General Wendul Hagler, Senior U.S. Defense Official and Defense Attaché in the U.A.E. The luncheon discussion held at the St. Regis Hotel Abu Dhabi continued the conversation the Business Council started with MG Hagler in October 2023 about the state of the U.S.-U.A.E. bilateral defense and security relationship and priorities in the region, including opportunities for businesses operating in this sector.
MG Hagler provided an update on regional developments spanning the Israel-Hamas war and recent U.S. airstrikes against Iranian proxies. He addressed the disruptive activities of the Houthis affecting shipping and commercial activity in the Red Sea and the U.S. efforts as part of Maritime Coalition to deter the Houthis. MG Hagler commended the positive role the U.A.E. is playing in the region, particularly with regard to the Israel-Hamas conflict, including the extraordinary efforts of the U.A.E. government to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza and a field hospital. He highlighted the U.A.E.’s leadership in the political, diplomatic, and humanitarian fronts as critical to regional stability and security. Additionally, he noted that the United States is continuing in its mission to disrupt, degrade, and destroy ISIS.
MG Hagler outlined his current priorities as Senior Defense Official and Defense Attaché in the U.S.-U.A.E. defense and security relationship, including expanding opportunities for business. MG Hagler fielded questions about the state of the Abraham Accords in light of the conflict, defense technology and equipment control and release, and reforms currently underway to the foreign military sales (FMS) process.
MG Hagler then highlighted key outcomes from the Dubai Airshow 2023 and UMEX 2024 trade shows and noted that the U.A.E.’s growing indigenous defense industry offers potential new collaboration opportunities for U.S. companies. He cited advanced technology, particularly unmanned systems, as a potential area for collaboration and encouraged U.S. and U.A.E. companies to consider new areas of collaboration that benefited both countries, especially in light of current supply chain challenges. MG Hagler and his team offered specific examples of ways U.S. industry might work with the U.A.E.’s indigenous defense industry to access new regional and global markets. He also stressed the importance of innovation at every level in the U.A.E.’s planning, requirements, and acquisition processes, emphasizing that the U.A.E. is making great strides towards joint service efficiency and reform.
MG Hagler began serving as the Senior Defense Official and Defense Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi in July 2023. He previously served as the Deputy Commanding General of U.S. Army Central, the land component of U.S. Central Command, where he was responsible for partner nation engagements, security cooperation, contingency capabilities, and headquarters staff processes. MG Hagler also served as the Senior Defense Official and Defense Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh and as Director of Central Command’s Forward Headquarters in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he coordinated the deployment and operational activities of Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps forces defending the Kingdom following Iranian attacks there in 2019. MG Hagler’s Army career includes 34 years as a commissioned officer and nearly three years as an enlisted combat medical specialist, including as the plans and programs branch chief for the National Guard Bureau Operations Division, as the Director of the Chief, National Guard Bureau’s Action Group, and as the senior security advisor to the Afghan Ministry of Interior. He also served as the Missouri National Guard’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and as the Joint Force Headquarters Chief of Staff.
For questions about this event or the Business Council’s work in the defense and aerospace sector, please contact Amira Siddiqi at asiddiqi@usuaebusiness.org.
