UAE minister defends immigration ban
Print Edition
THE United Arab Emirates’ top diplomat yesterday defended US President Donald Trump’s order temporarily barring citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.
The comments by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Gulf federation’s foreign minister, could help bolster the administration’s assertion that the directive is not intended as a ban against Muslims.
The UAE minister said the US was within its rights to take what he said was a “sovereign decision” on immigration.
Sheikh Abdullah also expressed his faith in the American administration’s assurances that the move was not based on religion, and noted that most of the world’s Muslim-majority countries were not covered by the order.
“This a temporary ban and it will revised in three months, so it is important that we put into consideration this point,” he said following talks with his Russian counterpart in the Emirati capital, Abu Dhabi.
“Some of these countries that were on this list are countries that face structural problems,” he said. “These countries should try to solve these issues ... and these circumstances before trying to solve this issue with the United States.”
The Emirates is one of the United States’ closest Arab allies. It is part of the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group and hosts American troops and warplanes taking part in the anti-IS campaign. It is also home to a US-backed center that aims to counter extremist propaganda online.
The seven-state federation prides itself on being a tolerant, forward-looking nation that nonetheless embraces its traditional Arab and Islamic heritage. The local population is dwarfed some four-to-one by foreign residents, many of whom are not Muslim.
America’s largest Arab export market, the Emirates also has commercial connections to the new US president.
Trump has lent his name to a soon-to-open golf course and real-estate project being developed in Dubai, the Middle East’s commercial hub. The Abu Dhabi tourism office is a tenant of Trump Tower in New York.
Sheikh Abdullah and Sergey Lavrov discussed a range of regional issues including the war in Syria during their meeting.
Lavrov expressed a willingness to engage with the new US administration on the establishment of safe zones in Syria, but suggested more details were needed.
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