On Thursday 6 August, Dr Anwar Gargash, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, joined Dr Rodger Shanahan, Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute, for an in conversation event.

The United Arab Emirates has built an increasingly high profile in regional affairs in recent years. Long known for its resource riches and welcoming attitude towards Western expatriates, it has developed and diversified its domestic economy at great speed, and deployed its armed forces on operations in Afghanistan, Yemen and in support of the anti–Islamic State coalition. It also has strong links with Australia, hosting the largest overseas concentration of ADF assets, as well as nearly 20,000 Australian expats, three Australian universities and two Australian international high schools. It is Australia’s main trading partner in the Middle East; more than 300 Australian companies operate there, and the UAE invests more than $11 billion in Australia.