Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris Sept. 15. After their meeting, Macron praised the UAE’s role in the evacuations of foreign nationals from Afghanistan. The next day, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson thanked Mohammed bin Zayed for the UAE’s “invaluable support” to Britain’s evacuation efforts, as both leaders held talks on Afghanistan and economic cooperation. 

Although the Afghanistan crisis has given the UAE an opportunity to shore up its partnerships with key Western allies, Abu Dhabi views the Taliban takeover with caution and concern. The chaos that accompanied the US withdrawal from Afghanistan has alarmed friends and allies about Washington’s reliability as a security partner.

Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a prominent Dubai-based political scientist, told Al-Monitor that the US withdrawal has created a “trust deficit in the US president, US intelligence estimates and US security protection. Overall trust in the US is at its lowest.” The UAE is also concerned by security threats emanating from the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Abdulla said, “The Taliban victory has energized jihadist groups all over the region. It is a major concern. Regional powers need to be diligent and on the watch all the time for this development emanating from Afghanistan.”

Beyond these immediate security risks, the UAE faces an intense geopolitical scrum in Afghanistan. As Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani was the first top diplomat to visit Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and Doha has been an outspoken proponent of constructive engagement with the Taliban, it has a stronger diplomatic foothold in Afghanistan than the UAE. Former Afghan Ambassador to Canada and France Omar Samad believes that the Gulf monarchies are engaged in a three-way competition for influence in Afghanistan. Samad told Al-Monitor, “Qatar has the advantage of having hosted intra-Afghan talks while the UAE is now hosting former President Ghani and the Saudis are adopting a wait-and-see attitude.”