This report serves as essential reading offering current trendlines affecting the relationship as Abu Dhabi prepares to host the biennial International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX). A new preface to this report, which was previously published in January 2019, examines these trends and the implications for the U.S.-U.A.E. defense and security partnership. These trends include:
- The signing of the Abraham Accords
- The Trump Administration’s designation of the U.A.E. and Bahrain as “Major Security Partners”
- The new Biden Administration and Congress
- The U.S. and U.A.E. signing a letter of agreement on a historic $23.3 billion arms sale
- The evolving regional threat environment
- The U.A.E. withdrawal of its forces from Yemen
- The creation of EDGE
- The increase in the number of western defense companies with a landed presence within the U.A.E.
- Changes to the U.A.E. Offsets Program
- Reconciliation between the Gulf States
