Foreign dignitaries who have visited the UAE

1972. President Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan with Syrian President Hafez Al Assad in Abu Dhabi.

1974. President Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan with King Hussain of Jordan in Abu Dhabi.

1976. President Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan welcomes Egyptian President Anwar Sadat during his visit to the UAE.

1977. President Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan in conversation with Indonesian President Suharto during his visit to the UAE.

1975. President Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan with King Khalid Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia during his visit to the UAE.

1975. President Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan welcoming Shaikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, at Abu Dhabi International Airport.

1978. President Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan with Algerian President Houari Boumedienne in Abu Dhabi.

1978. President Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, with visiting Djibouti Prime Minister Ahmad Dini Ahmad.

1979. President Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, welcome Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, during their visit to the country.

1980. Shaikh Eisa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, Emir of Bahrain, in conversation with President Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, during his three-day private visit to the UAE.

1980. King Hussain of Jordan with President Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan at Mushrif Palace, where King Hussain stayed during his two-day official visit to the UAE.

1980. President Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan welcomes French President Valery Giscard D`Estaing on his visit to the UAE.

1980. President Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan talks with Ali Nasser Mohammad, President of the Democratic Republic of Yemen, during his official visit to the UAE.

1981. Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had been re-elected in 1981 for her fourth and final term when she paid a visit to the UAE. She is shown talking with Shaikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Crown Prince of Dubai, with Zaki Nussaibi, long-serving Adviser on Foreign Affairs to the UAE President.

1981. Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, welcomes British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher during her first visit to the UAE. In the background is UK Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd.

1985. Shaikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Crown Prince of Dubai, and Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Defence Minister, with Pakistan President Zia-ul-Haq during a brief stopover in Dubai on a visit to Riyadh.

1989. Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Prince Charles review the honour guard upon the arrival of the Prince and Princess of Wales in Abu Dhabi.

1989. In a light-hearted moment President Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan demonstrates the unsheathing of a traditional Arab khanjar (dagger) to Chinese President Yang Shang-kun. During his visit, the two leaders reviewed the situation in the Middle East and the ongoing efforts for a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue. At that time China was becoming an increasingly important trading partner of the UAE.

1992. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in conversation with Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Defence Minister and Crown Prince of Dubai, during a visit to the UAE.

2000. President Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan receives Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat during a visit to the UAE.

2000. Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister, talks with former South African President Nelson Mandela who was in Dubai to take part in the 7th Emirates International Forum. They discussed ways to improve ties between the UAE and South Africa, as well as topics relating to human rights, democracy and equality.

2008. US President George W. Bush watches girls perform a traditional dance at Shaikh Saeed Al Maktoum house in Shindagha, Dubai, as part of his visit to the UAE. With him is Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice- President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

2008. President Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan presents the Zayed Order to US President George W. Bush during his visit to the UAE.

2008. US President George W. Bush is greeted by General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, after touring the Masdar city projects.

2001. President Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan holds talks with visiting French President Jacques Chirac in Abu Dhabi, during which they discussed the UAE and French positions on how to handle Iraq's actions, among other issues.

2010. President Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in talks with Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to the UAE.

2010. The British community in the UAE welcomes Queen Elizabeth II at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi. She is accompanied by Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, along with General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces; Shaikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, and Shaikh Saeed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

2007. President Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, welcome Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad upon his arrival in the UAE, the first visit by an Iranian head of state.

2003. Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, holds talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas in Abu Dhabi.

2003. General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister, welcomes King Abdullah II of Jordan upon his arrival in the UAE.

2007. A happy Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan and PPP Chairperson, flanked by her daughters Bakhtawar (right) and Asifa (left) and her husband Asif Ali Zardari (rear), in Dubai before leaving for Pakistan to begin her campaign to be reelected prime minister, during which she was assassinated.

2003. Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Minister of Defence, sees off Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at the end of his visit to the UAE.