UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani in Abu Dhabi on Thursday to discuss expanding cooperation between the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, a day after the UAE's formal exit from OPEC and OPEC+ took effect, ending nearly six decades of membership.
The talks come as Abu Dhabi recalibrates regional ties following weeks of Iranian missile and drone strikes that, by Emirati defense ministry figures, hit the UAE harder than any other country in the region.
The two leaders said they reviewed the trajectory of UAE-Iraq relations, including with the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region, and exchanged views on regional developments and their implications for security and stability.
Barzani, on X, said the meeting underscored "the importance of reinforcing cooperation to promote stability and security across the region."
The visit lands in a sharply altered Gulf landscape.
The UAE announced on April 28 that it would leave OPEC and the broader OPEC+ alliance effective May 1, ending a membership that began in Abu Dhabi in 1967.
Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei told Reuters the decision was made "after a careful look at current and future policies related to [the] level of production," and that the UAE did not consult other member states.
The country, OPEC's third-largest producer in February, plans to expand production capacity to 5 million barrels per day by 2027.
The split followed a war that began Feb. 28, when the United States and Israel launched a coordinated air campaign against Iran, designated Operation Epic Fury by U.S. Central Command.
Iran has fired roughly 550 ballistic and cruise missiles and more than 2,200 drones at the UAE during the war, as tallied by the Emirati defense ministry, as cited by Axios.
Most were intercepted, though some struck military and civilian sites.
Israel deployed an Iron Dome battery with interceptors and several dozen IDF operators to the UAE early in the conflict on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's order, after a call between Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohamed, Axios reported, citing two Israeli officials and a U.S. official; it was the first time Israel had sent the system abroad.
The Kurdistan Region was hit too.
Iranian drones and missiles repeatedly targeted Erbil International Airport, the U.S. consulate, the UAE consulate in Erbil and Peshmerga positions, with attacks continuing past an April 8 ceasefire. Erbil was struck by more than 450 drones and missiles by late March, FDD's Long War Journal reported.
The UAE is already among Kurdistan's top three trading partners, alongside Turkey and Iran, with Emirati capital active in Kurdish energy, infrastructure and real estate, Rudaw reported.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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