His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the UAE, received the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, the Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, on 18 April 2026 for her first official visit to the UAE. The two Ministers discussed the deep and historic UK-UAE relationship, founded on a shared commitment to regional stability, prosperity and international cooperation. They built on discussions between the UK Prime Minister the Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer MP and the President of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on 9 April. The two Ministers formally agreed to a Framework for enhanced cooperation between their two countries, covering foreign affairs, defence, trade and investment, artificial intelligence, the energy transition, and judicial cooperation and illicit finance. The Framework provides an ambitious basis to deliver a long-term bilateral partnership and strengthened mutual resilience. The Secretary of State thanked the UAE authorities for their extensive efforts to safeguard British Nationals amid recent regional hostilities. HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed appreciation for the continued support from the UK in response to Iranian aggression. Both Ministers agreed on the importance of ongoing consular cooperation. The Ministers condemned in the strongest terms Iran’s egregious and unjustifiable attacks, on the UAE and States across the region, including against civilians and civilian infrastructure, in clear breach of their sovereignty and territorial integrity and in flagrant violation of fundamental principles and rules of international law, including the UN Charter. Recalling UN Security Council resolution 2817 (2026), the two sides condemned Iran’s actions and threats aimed at closing, obstructing, or otherwise interfering with international navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. The Ministers affirmed the importance of freedom of navigation without tolling in the strait, in accordance with international law, reflected in UNCLOS. The two Ministers further recalled the 19 March 2026 decision of the International Maritime Organization Council condemning Iran’s threats and attacks against vessels and its closure of the Strait of Hormuz as representing a grave danger to life and serious risk to the safety of navigation and the marine environment. The Ministers welcomed the initiative by the UK and France, announced on 17 April, to support freedom of navigation, to stand up for international law, and to protect global economic stability and energy security with the support of an international coalition. The two Ministers condemned attacks in Sudan against civilians, as well as humanitarian personnel and convoys, by the warring parties. They stressed that the warring parties have a responsibility to bring the conflict to an end and the international community to increase pressure to bring this about, and that the protection of civilians must remain central. They emphasised the urgent need for an immediate and unconditional truce to enable rapid, safe, and unimpeded humanitarian access across Sudan and rejected any attempts to politicise humanitarian assistance. The Ministers underscored that Sudan’s future must be determined by its civilians through an independent civilian-led process to meet the aspirations of the Sudanese people towards a transition to a civilian-led government. They welcomed recent engagements between the Quad, the United Kingdom and the European Union, most recently on the margins of the Berlin Conference, and reaffirmed the importance of continued coordination to advance peace in Sudan. The Ministers also reaffirmed their commitment to supporting a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine in line with international law and the principles of the UN Charter, including respect for sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. They welcomed the most recent UAE facilitation of prisoner exchanges between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, bringing the total number of prisoners exchanged to 6,305 since the beginning of the war. They also discussed ways of cooperating on supporting Ukraine’s recovery. The Ministers looked forward to continue close cooperation and to growing the UK-UAE relationship over the period ahead.
