“Strategic autonomy remains the UAE’s enduring choice,” Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to President Sheikh Mohamed, recently observed.
This principle applies within the Gulf and Arab worlds and far beyond them. Far from contradicting collective action, the UAE’s approach is grounded in constructive dialogue and institutional consultation that support collective security, national interests and state sovereignty.
The UAE’s foreign policy, shaped by multilateralism and strategic autonomy, reflects a deliberate effort to diversify options in an increasingly fragmented world. This is most evident in areas such as food and health security, the energy transition, advanced technologies and global trade. Abu Dhabi seeks not merely to consume solutions, but to act as a partner and producer – while remaining agile in a rapidly evolving and increasingly unconventional global economic environment.
There is no such thing as absolute strategic autonomy in today’s deeply interconnected international system.
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