Queen Elizabeth was a 'warm and wise' friend to the UAE

UAE ambassador to the UK looks forward to new era built on late monarch's strong foundations

Queen Elizabeth II leads Sheikh Zayed, Ruler of Abu Dhabi, through Buckingham Palace in London, on June 13, 1969. Getty Images

Sheikh Zayed, Queen Elizabeth, Sheikh Khalifa and Prince Philip in Abu Dhabi in 1979. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth with Sheikh Zayed during her visit to the UAE in 1979. Photo: Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh, adviser to the Ministry of Presidential Affairs

The queen during her UAE visit in 1979. Photo: Ramesh Shukla

Queen Elizabeth during her 1979 UAE visit. Photo: Ramesh Shukla

The inauguration of Le Meridien in Abu Dhabi with Queen Elizabeth and Sheikh Zayed in 1979. Photo: Le Meridien Abu Dhabi

Queen Elizabeth and Sheikh Zayed on the latter's visit to England in 1989. Photo: Centre for Documentation and Research

Queen Elizabeth at a lunch at Al Mushrif Palace hosted by President Sheikh Khalifa. Photo: Ian Jones

Queen Elizabeth with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, at Emirates Palace on November 25, 2010. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth arrives at Emirates Palace with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid for the unveiling of Zayed National Museum on November 25, 2010. Andrew Henderson / The National

Sheikh Mohamed with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque on November 24, 2010. Andrew Henderson / The National

President Sheikh Khalifa arrives in Windsor for a state visit to the UK as the guest of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Photo: Ian Jones

Queen Elizabeth with Sheikh Khalifa and Prince Phillip in Windsor, UK, in 2013. AP Photo

Queen Elizabeth, Sheikh Khalifa and Prince Philip leave after the inspection of the Guard of Honour at Windsor Castle. AP Photo

Queen Elizabeth appoints the then Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed, a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George in 1979. Tim Graham / Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth delivers a speech in the presence of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid and Prince Philip on February 25, 1979. National Archives

She sits beside Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed on a sightseeing tour of Dubai on February 26, 1979. AP Photo

As millions mourn the death of Queen Elizabeth II here in the UK and across the world, it’s fitting to pause and reflect on how Her Majesty meant many things to many people.

For Emiratis, she represented the very best of British identity and character. For that reason, many of us, myself included, felt a deep sense of affection towards her. The UK is an important friend and ally, and the queen served as monarch for the entire history of our country. So today we feel profound sadness, as well as gratitude.

Our nation joins the UK in mourning the passing of an incredibly beloved monarch. Our thoughts are, of course, with the British royal family, and with British and Commonwealth citizens around the world.

The queen’s passing is also a moment for personal reflection. As ambassador to the UK, I was fortunate to meet the queen on several occasions. I will cherish the memories of the times I spent in her company. On every occasion I found her to be warm, thoughtful, wise and kind.

I have been struck, reading the many tributes paid to her in recent days, how many other people experienced the same. For someone to bear so much responsibility for so long and still to inspire such a reaction in those who met her is incredible.

But beyond these personal memories, the passing of the monarch also presents an opportunity to reflect on the strength of the relationship between our two nations.

The queen was a close friend to the UAE and for that we will always be grateful.

Her first visit to our young nation, in 1979, saw her welcomed by our Founding Father, H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. This visit, in the years after the relationship between the Gulf and the UK had changed so significantly, did much to establish a friendship between us and set a positive course for the decades ahead.

I remember well her second visit, in 2010, and in particular the iconic images of her visit to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Her presence there was doubly significant, as in her capacity as Supreme Governor of the Church of England she was the first leader of another religion to visit the mosque. This visit did much to underline to the world the shared values of dialogue and tolerance that our two nations hold.

When I was appointed ambassador some years later, the memory of these visits, and the pride I felt in the strength of our relationship with the UK, served as an inspiration. In the decades since that first visit in 1979, we have found many opportunities for partnership and collaboration.

We have deepened our ties and strengthened our friendship. Working with her majesty’s government we have signed various impactful initiatives and agreements, most recently the Partnership for the Future and the Sovereign Investment Partnership, which will benefit a wide variety of sectors from energy and infrastructure, to education and cultural development, in both our nations. Our trade ties will be further intensified through the GCC-UK Free Trade Agreement, for which negotiations have started.

As monarch, Queen Elizabeth II presided over all these major milestones, and the UAE is grateful for the direction she so skilfully set.

We can look back on the Elizabethan era with fondness and pride, and we can look forward with confidence that more opportunities lie ahead.

Leaders inevitably change, but leadership can be constant, built on the strong foundations laid by predecessors.

In the United Kingdom, a new Carolean era has begun under King Charles III where the UK will continue to thrive as a modern, multicultural and multi-faith society.

In the UAE, H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was appointed President of the UAE earlier this year following the passing of our former President, H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. His Highness Sheikh Mohamed will ensure that the UAE too will continue to flourish as a diverse, tolerant society.

Having experienced the profound sadness that overwhelmed our nation when H.H. Sheikh Khalifa passed, we very much empathise with the British people at this difficult time. It is in these momentous and unforeseen developments, that we see another, unexpected parallel between our nations’ histories and paths forward.

From my perspective, I am confident that under the leadership of King Charles III and H.H. Sheikh Mohamed, the friendship and partnership between the UAE and the UK will continue to thrive – a true testament to the legacies of Queen Elizabeth II and our former President, H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The UK mourns Queen Elizabeth II - in pictures