World Governments Summit in Dubai sees record European turnout as the UAE positions itself as a neutral hub for global dialogue and Gulf-EU ties.
Record European participation together with high-level representatives of Gulf countries resulted in the UAE positioning itself as a major neutral diplomatic platform for global dialogue at the World Governments Summit in Dubai this week, officials told Euronews.
"The world requires a place where, whether it's adversaries, whether it's different geographies, to at least have dialogue," said Omar Al Olama, UAE minister of state for AI, digital economy and remote work applications.
"Even at the height of the Cold War between the USSR and the United States, there was dialogue," Al Olama told Euronews.
"And the UAE prides itself on being that, being a place where the world can convene, a place where the world can come and converse, and a place that is a safe haven for dialogue to push certain agendas forward," he emphasised.
Al Olama, who serves as vice-chair of the summit, pointed to the UAE's involvement in peace efforts including talks on Ukraine and reconciliation between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The summit brought together more than 35 heads of state and 500 ministers from 3-5 February, marking the highest European representation in the event's history.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin, Estonian President Alar Karis and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez were in attendance, alongside leaders from Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania and Georgia.
Mohamed Al Sharhan, managing director of the summit, said European leaders came "to reposition the relationship at the forefront of their priorities with the UAE and with the wider region."
Luigi Di Maio, EU special envoy to the Gulf, told Euronews recent geopolitical tensions have raised interest in deeper European-Gulf Cooperation Council ties.
"The world has changed. The WTO rules are totally disrupted. And even globalisation, I don't want to say it is different compared to a few years ago," he said. "So it's not only about Europe, it's about trade dynamics at global level."
"No country is immune, if we look at this trade and geopolitical turmoil that we are experiencing."
"This is a very good thing that we are now looking more and more at GCC countries and European countries in having more trade, economic and political relations," Di Maio explained.
The UAE's diplomatic push unfolds amid continued tensions in the region. A US fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that approached the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday, hours before Iranian gunboats harassed a US-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday Washington planned to participate in talks with Tehran and hoped to discuss a number of concerns beyond the nuclear issue, including Iran's ballistic missiles, support for proxy networks across the region and the “treatment of their own people."