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The UAE remains open in its foreign relations, and is also firmly committed to the support of Arab unity. HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan is very generous with the country’s wealth when it comes to helping Arab nations and communities that are less well off. The Palestinian people have received significant aid packages, including the $100 million Khalifa Bin Zayed City, to be built in the Gaza Strip following the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

The UAE became a member of the United Nations and the Arab League in 1971. It is a member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other international and Arab organisations. It is also a member of the Arab Gulf Co-operation Council (AGCC, also known as the GCC), whose other members are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Pioneered by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the UAE had a leading role in the formation of the AGCC in 1981 and the country is the third largest member in terms of geographical size, after Saudi Arabia and Oman. All major embassies and consulates are represented either in Dubai or in Abu Dhabi, or both.