UAE taking on a bigger humanitarian role to 'fill gaps' left by the US, says former Pentagon official

Trump administration expected to play a smaller role

Tonnes of aid has been sent to Gaza through campaigns in the UAE. Photo: Wam

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The UAE, which this week established a major new aid agency, is stepping up humanitarian efforts to “fill gaps” left behind by the US, particularly in Gaza, a former Pentagon official told The National.

Elizabeth Dent, former director for the Gulf at the US Office of the Secretary of Defence said this comes as an even smaller role is expected to be played by the Trump administration in the Middle East.

“There’s been a recent trend in US foreign policy for the US government to disentangle itself from the region to focus domestically, and the election of Donald Trump appears to have solidified that view,” said Ms Dent, now a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

“Arab partners are looking to find ways to fill the gaps that the US may leave, particularly as Trump is expected to ask partners in the region to do more.”

On Monday, diplomatic adviser to President Sheikh Mohamed, Dr Anwar Gargash said that humanitarian considerations should “no longer be an afterthought in the face of political upheaval”.

“Instead, they must be integrated into the fabric of decision-making processes, and it is critical that the lives of people should become the primary driver,” he said at the opening ceremony of the Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate. Hours later, Sheikh Mohamed issued a decree establishing the UAE Aid Agency to plan, oversee and execute disaster relief and recovery programmes.

Ms Dent, who left her position in May, said the US has not played the “linchpin primary co-ordination” role in getting humanitarian aid into Gaza though it has been diplomatically involved in pressuring Israel to allow aid in and building a pier to bring in supplies by sea.

Last month, the US gave Israel 30 days to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza where the UN and other international organisations had warned that a famine was taking place, and the wounded are dying from a lack of medical care in the absence of supplies.

Ms Dent said the establishment of the relief agency appears to indicate that the UAE is looking to ensure that a mechanism for aid distribution will still exist once a ceasefire is reached in the enclave.

“This could also help drum up support from other Arab countries, as the UAE Aid Agency could operate as a trusted mechanism to get aid in,” she said.

With two months until Mr Trump's administration is in place, Ms Dent said the UAE is signalling that it will prioritise the humanitarian aspect for Arab partners in the region and “ensuring that once the conflict ends, as the Trump administration is keen on doing, humanitarian assistance will be a centrepiece for foreign policy”.

Senior fellow for Middle East policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Hasan Al Hasan told The National that humanitarian aid has always been a “feature” of UAE foreign policy.

The UAE is currently active in Gaza, having established a field hospital in Rafah last year, where about 50,000 people have been treated so far. The UAE has also created a floating hospital in Egypt's Al Arish where more than 5,000 Gazans have been given medical care, surgeries and an outpatient clinic. The Emirates has also provided prosthetics and artificial limbs for Gazan amputees who have been injured in the war and sent 736.25 tonnes of medical aid to Gaza.

Hundreds of Gazans have also been evacuated to the UAE for free treatment and the country has contributed to the polio vaccination campaign in collaboration with the World Health Organisation to immunise 640,000 children against the disease which was reported in the enclave this year, 25 years after it was eradicated.

Mr Al Hasan also said the UAE understands that humanitarian consequences of conflict are not a “side effect” and can end up exacerbating and spilling wars over.

Additionally, this direction cannot only bring greater financial contribution to humanitarian institutions but also become an “important factor when attempting to mediate and broker ceasefires,” Mr Al Hasan said. The UAE is also planning for a “day after” scenario in conflict zones, he said.

Dr Gargash also said that militias and private armies in the region “must no longer be tolerated”, placing greater importance on supporting national states and institutions.

“Humanitarian considerations can also inform the ways in which states address conflicts that involve non-state actors,” Mr Al Hasan said – as designating them a terrorist organisation could impact the delivery of humanitarian aid under their control.