Fond memories of the first UAE visit from a US president on the eve of the second

Donald Trump will visit the Emirates 17 years after George W Bush's trip

On January 13, 2008, President Sheikh Khalifa welcomes US president George W Bush to the UAE on his arrival in Abu Dhabi. Reuters

President Sheikh Khalifa and George W Bush in Abu Dhabi. Mr Bush was the first US president to visit the UAE. Reuters

President Sheikh Mohamed, who in January 2008 was Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, with Mr Bush at a desert camp in Sweihan. Reuters

Sheikh Mohamed with President Bush. Philip Cheung / Abu Dhabi Media Company

Sheikh Mohamed with Mr Bush, then Masdar chief executive Dr Sultan Al Jaber and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Reuters

Sheikh Mohamed with Mr Bush at an exhibition to showcase plans for Saadiyat Island Cultural District. Philip Cheung / Abu Dhabi Media Company

Sheikh Mohamed shows Mr Bush plans for the Saadiyat Island cultural district. Philip Cheung / Abu Dhabi Media Company

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It was cool with light rain during the visit of US President George W Bush to the UAE in January 2008, but the welcome was warm.

Mr Bush made history with his arrival in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, January 13. It was the first time a sitting US president had visited the UAE.

Next month, a second US president will arrive in the country. Donald Trump, the 47th holder of the office, will arrive in Abu Dhabi as part of a Middle East trip that includes Saudi Arabia and Qatar. This time, the weather should be equal to the welcome.

The 17 years between the two visits have brought stable and convivial relations between the two countries in a world that is, as ever, full of uncertainty and dangers.

Then and now

The year 2008 would bring plunging stock markets, a war between Russia and a former part of the Soviet Union, deadly attacks by extremists on India and international concerns about Iran’s potential to build a nuclear weapon. Plus ca change, as they say.

Air Force One arrived at Abu Dhabi International Airport after stops in Kuwait, Bahrain and Israel, while Mr Bush also visited the occupied West Bank. His motorcade headed for the Emirates Palace hotel, his base for the trip. Mr Bush addressed an audience in the main auditorium, praising the UAE for its tolerance and progress, and saying: “This new era is founded on the equality of all people before God.”

Mr Bush was also shown a model of the Saadiyat Island project, where three great museums, Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Zayed National Museum and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi were to be built.

President Sheikh Khalifa receives George W Bush during his visit to the UAE in 2008. Reuters

Later he was entertained, along with US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, who was Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi at the time, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, at a traditional tented desert camp, complete with falcons and blazing fires to ward off the seasonal chill.

On the second day of the visit, Monday, January 14, Mr Bush visited a damp Dubai, where the traffic was eased by the declaration of a public holiday. He later flew on to Saudi Arabia from the city, Air Force One having made the short hop to Dubai International Airport.

Like Mr Bush, Mr Trump will be in his second term during his visit to the UAE, the difference being he both is the 45th and 47th presidents, having lost to Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

First-term impact

Mr Trump's first term was significant for the Abraham Accords, which helped to establish relations between Israel and several Arab countries, including the UAE. The spirit of reconciliation and tolerance is represented by the Abrahamic House, a complex in Abu Dhabi which includes a mosque, synagogue and church.

While Mr Trump did not visit the UAE during his first term, he will be familiar with President Sheikh Mohamed. The two leaders have regularly spoken by telephone in recent months, with Sheikh Mohamed visiting Mr Trump in Washington as Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces in May 2017.

At the time, Mr Trump praised Sheikh Mohamed, calling him “an outstanding person whom I respect. I know how much he loves his country and I believe he loves the US as well".

The two met again in Florida last year during a trip that included talks with Mr Biden, the first by a UAE President on American soil.

Mr Trump will also visit Saudi Arabia and Qatar on the three-nation trip between May 13 and 16, which has the objective of strengthening ties with the three Gulf countries and seeking an end to the war in Gaza.

While details of the itinerary have not been revealed, he could perhaps visit Saadiyat Island to see not just the Abrahamic Family House, but how those three museums – models on a plan during the first visit of an American president – have since become a reality for the second.

Trump's 2017 visit to the Middle East - in pictures

US President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi place their hands on an illuminated globe during the inauguration ceremony of the Global Centre for Combating Extremist Ideology in Riyadh. Getty Images

Front row, left to right, President Sheikh Mohamed, Mr Trump, King Salman, and Jordan's King Abdullah II, with Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Tamim, far left, at the Arab-Islamic-American Summit in Riyadh. Reuters

King Salman and Mr Trump. Reuters

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Mr Trump and former White House senior advisor Jared Kushner. Reuters

Mr Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, as their wives Sara Netanyahu and Melania Trump walk behind, in Tel Aviv. Reuters

Mr Trump meets with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Riyadh. Reuters

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed with Mr Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump at the Global Centre for Combatting Extremist Ideology in Riyadh. Reuters

Mr and Mrs Trump board Air Force One to depart for Israel from King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Reuters