Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed, outlined his country’s foreign policy in recent years, saying it had shaped the country’s view that the only solution to Sudan’s war is civilian rule.
In an article published in Al Ettihad newspaper, Dr Gargash addressed media campaigns targeting the UAE’s position on Sudan, saying it was surprising to see some parties take part in them.
He added that the intense focus on the UAE’s interest in Sudan created the impression that support by other regional actors for parties to the conflict was being treated as legitimate, and as if developments in the region were somehow unconnected.
“In recent months, questions have increasingly been raised about the UAE’s position on Sudan, and on regional issues more broadly, particularly amid an unprecedented media campaign targeting the country. This campaign is being led by well-known actors, as well as others, close, who were not expected to engage in such a course,” he wrote.
Since 2018, the UAE’s foreign policy has entered a “clear phase of transformation, marked by the end of its direct military role within the Saudi-led Arab coalition in Yemen,” and moved into a “geo-economic transformation, with enhancing economic competitiveness, stability and investment openness becoming top priorities,” according to Dr Gargash.
This direction deepened under President Sheikh Mohamed, but, while the strategy prioritises economic and technological ambition, regional stability remained central to national security, a balance tested after the October 7 attacks, when the UAE took a leading diplomatic role in Gaza ceasefire efforts and became the largest humanitarian supporter of Palestinians there.
“Against this turbulent backdrop, the UAE followed developments in Sudan with deep concern,” he stated.
Dr Gargash explained that the UAE tried to bring the Sudanese Armed Forces chief head Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, closer together after the 2021 coup, in an attempt to avert the military explosion that later occurred.
However, since the war between the two began in 2023, it was clear that the reality on the ground and the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood over the armed forces made it “illusory” to believe that a military victory was possible for either side.
Based on this assessment, the UAE participated in and supported various regional and international initiatives aimed at ending the war. “It was evident that decision-making within the Sudanese military establishment remained hostage to narrow ideological calculations, repeating past Sudanese experiences marked by dual authority and opaque decision-making,” said Dr Gargash.
Questions about why the UAE, one of the largest supporters of relief efforts in Sudan, is concerned with the war there, for him, are being raised “as if regional security were not interconnected, or as if support by other regional actors for parties to the conflict were legitimate, while a position calling for neutrality and an end to the war is questioned”.
In September, a three-month humanitarian truce proposal was presented by the Quad group comprising Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and the US. Gen Al Burhan has rejected the proposal and vowed to keep fighting until the RSF is defeated.
“This war will not be decided militarily. What we are witnessing is a balance of weakness between two sides, with some 30 militias aligned with each camp, and a war marked by brutality on both sides, with civilians paying the price — from Rapid Support Forces crimes in El Fasher to the army’s use of chemical weapons and massacres in Al Jazira state — in a context that reproduces Sudan’s historical tragedies. The only loser in this conflict is the Sudanese people,” wrote Dr Gargash.
“In conclusion, the only path out of this tragedy is a ceasefire and a return to a political process leading to civilian rule within a credible, time-bound framework, alongside national reconciliation based on justice and accountability — steps that open the door to reconstruction and restoring Sudan’s standing.”
