A Conversation with His Excellency Yousef Al Otaiba, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the United States

The United Arab Emirates has become one of the United States' strongest allies in the Middle East. Its ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Yousef Al Otaiba, has been instrumental to enhancing UAE-US relations and improving bilateral security and economic cooperation between the two nations. As part of a special visit to RAND, Ambassador Al Otaiba describes his vision for a stable, tolerant, and prosperous Middle East.

Ambassador Al Otaiba was named ambassador to Washington in 2008. Al Otaiba speaks often about how the two countries can work together to counter extremism and aggression in the region. He has been a vocal advocate of military intervention against ISIS, and played a key role in building support for the airstrikes against ISIS in fall 2014, the first of which was led by a UAE pilot. The UAE is also the United States' largest trading partner in the Middle East, where it is fast becoming an economic engine for the region.