Biden, Harris meet UAE leader on Middle East, Sudan

US President Joe Biden shakes hands with President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on September 23, 2024. [AFP]

US President Joe Biden met UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Monday for talks on conflicts in the Middle East and Sudan -- despite concerns over the Gulf power's own role in the Sudan conflict.

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is also meeting the Emirati leader at the White House, the first-ever such visit in Washington by a president of the oil-rich monarchy.

Biden, 81, who is in his final months as president, said after shaking hands with Sheikh Mohamed that they were going to "discuss our efforts to end the war in Gaza and a number of issues."

He said he had been briefed on developments in Lebanon, where Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds had killed 356 people, and that he was "working to de-escalate" the situation.

Biden also hailed relations with the UAE, describing it as a "nation of trailblazers, always looking to the future, always making big bets" and saying it was about to become a "major defence partner" of the United States.

But in his opening remarks, Biden made no mention of Sudan, despite having called in recent days for an end to the brutal civil war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The Sudanese army has repeatedly accused the UAE of backing the RSF, which the United States accuses of carrying out crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing centred in the war-scarred Darfur region.

The White House had said last week that both Biden and Vice President Harris would discuss "the crisis in Sudan" with Sheikh Mohamed, including the need for humanitarian aid and a ceasefire.

Harris was meeting the UAE leader separately at the White House.

For its part the UAE has a different spin on the visit, saying it's aimed at highlighting economic and technological cooperation.

Presidential advisor Anwar Gargash said the Emiratis, who want to reorient their economy away from oil and towards new technologies such as AI, were thinking "economy first, prosperity first" in their "strategic relationship" with the United States.

Gargash said last week that the UAE's ties with the United States were "our most important strategic relationship," even as "sometimes people like to talk about some tensions in the relationship."

The UAE, expected to be a key contributor to the Gaza Strip's post-war reconstruction after the Israel-Hamas war, also has close ties with Russia and refused to condemn the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.