Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed speaks with new UK Foreign Minister

David Lammy vows to 'reconnect Britain to build a better future' in social media post

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy leaves 10 Downing Street after his appointment on July 5. Getty Images

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Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs, spoke with David Lammy in one of the first calls the UK Foreign Minister made after assuming his new post.

“This government will reconnect Britain to build a better future,” Mr Lammy said in an Instagram post, in which he listed the conversation with Sheikh Abdullah as one of his first.

Sheikh Abdullah congratulated Mr Lammy on his appointment, expressing his aspiration to work with him to reinforce and develop bilateral relations to achieve the mutual interests of their two countries, Wam reported.

Others to receive calls on Mr Lammy's first day in his new post included US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Irish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheal Martin and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

Mr Lammy was appointed Foreign Secretary by new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose Labour party achieved a landslide victory in the UK elections on Thursday.

The new Foreign Secretary called taking up his new post “the honour of my life”.

“The world faces huge challenges, but we will navigate them with the UK’s enormous strengths,” he said in a post on X.

Mr Lammy has previously expressed admiration for the Emirates' global diplomatic efforts, saying in May that the UK could “learn from the increasingly dynamic diplomacy approaches of countries like India, Brazil and the UAE”.

In his shadow ministerial role, Mr Lammy visited the UAE and held talks with Sheikh Abdullah, and was in Dubai during Cop28 in early December.