US secretary of state Kerry coming to Abu Dhabi

The US state department says John Kerry will visit the UAE after Seoul, Beijing and Jakarta.

The US secretary of state, John Kerry, will arrive in Abu Dhabi this month to meet senior government officials.

The US state department said Mr Kerry would fly to Seoul on Thursday, then visit Beijing and Jakarta over six days before arriving in Abu Dhabi.

In Abu Dhabi, he “will meet senior UAE officials to discuss a range of bilateral and regional issues that are of mutual interest to the US-UAE relationship”.

Mr Kerry’s last visit to Abu Dhabi was in November, when he met Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Sheikh Abdullah and he discussed matters including Iran's nuclear programme, the UAE's transparent nuclear programme and advances in the peace process between the Palestinians and Israelis.

Mr Kerry and Sheikh Mohammed talked of mutual efforts to end the civil war in Syria and assist Egypt’s transition to a stable, democratic government.

“A negotiated solution is the best way to increase the stability throughout the entire region and it’s the only way to end the bloodshed in Syria as soon as possible,” Mr Kerry said.

He also agreed on the need to urgently work with the UAE to “transform economically and politically the Egypt that needs to emerge”.