An array of presidents and prime ministers continued to descend on the United Arab Emirates from around the world Sunday to pay their respects to the federation's late ruler, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the country's long-ailing ruler who died on Friday at the age of 73. They also came to praise his successor, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan – a vivid sign of Abu Dhabi's influence in Western and Arab capitals.
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President Isaac Herzog led the Israeli delegation with Regional Cooperation Minister Esawi Frej and Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel. Herzog tweeted that they were going to "offer condolences on behalf of the State of Israel to my friend, the new UAE President, his family and the Emirati people on the passing of the previous President, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed."
Herzog added, "Our countries' partnership and peace is an asset for us and the whole region, an asset built by bold and groundbreaking leaders. Sheikh Khalifa was one such leader. His death is a great loss. I believe and hope that his legacy will continue to flourish in the Middle East." The UAE and Israel established formal ties in 2020 as part of the US regional peace initiative, The Abraham Accords, which saw Israel normalize relations with 4 Arab countries, including two in Africa.
Upon arrival, he met with the new president and expressed his heartfelt condolences "on behalf of Israelis, to you, your family, and to the Emirati people." Herzog added that the late brother of the UAE ruler was "a special person, whose courageous leadership contributed heavily to advancing his people and state and to the partnership that was realized over recent years between our countries." Herzog said the bilateral cooperation is "an asset to us and for the entire region, having left a legacy of progress and friendship between the region's people and the pursuit of peace in the Middle East."
The first Western leader to jet to the oil-rich capital of Abu Dhabi was French President Emmanuel Macron. He met Sunday with Sheikh Mohammed to pay tribute to Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was expected to arrive later Sunday to offer condolence.
An American delegation led by Vice President Kamala Harris is due to visit the UAE on Monday, a bid to show support after relations between the countries have recently strained.
Arab heads of state, including close allies Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Jordan's King Abdullah II traveled to the UAE on Saturday.
"He was respected by all for the values of peace, openness and dialogue that he embodied," Macron wrote on Twitter of Sheikh Khalifa, expressing "full support" for the ascension of his half-brother Sheikh Mohammed after rulers in the federation unanimously appointed him as president.
As crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed has served as the nation's de facto leader since Sheikh Khalifa suffered a stroke in 2014. He has turned the small UAE into a most influential state, wielding outsized power militarily and commercially across the Middle East and Africa.
Even while the country became entangled in the bloody, yearslong conflict in Yemen and a chaotic proxy war in Libya, it positioned itself as a savvy and reliable partner in Western capitals.
Paris and Abu Dhabi have become increasingly aligned in recent years, sharing a deep mistrust of Islamist movements like the Muslim Brotherhood across the wider region, including in Turkey and Libya.
France opened a major overseas naval base in Abu Dhabi. French warplanes and personnel are also stationed at a major facility outside the Emirati capital. The two governments jointly built a gleaming branch of the Louvre museum in the emirate.
During Macron's visit to Dubai last December, France clinched its biggest overseas order for its Rafale combat jet with the UAE – an $18 billion deal that came as a planned US sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets to the UAE stalled in part over American concerns about the Emirates' relationship with China.
The assertive foreign policy of Sheikh Mohammed was on stark display as allied Arab leaders rushed to the capital to express their sorrow over Sheikh Khalifa's death and offer congratulations on his formal ascension to power. Among the first was el-Sissi, the Egyptian general who, with Gulf Arab support, overthrew an elected but divisive Islamist government in 2013.
Emirati-backed Tunisian President Kais Saied, who has amassed nearly absolute power in the country since dismissing the prime minister last year, also flew in to pay tribute, along with Iraq's president and prime minister.
Sudan's Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the general who led the coup in the strategic east African nation last year, has made frequent visits to key backer Sheikh Mohammed. He posted footage on social media Saturday sprinting up stairs to board his plane to Abu Dhabi to give tribute to the late president.
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