Abu Dhabi: UK Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said his country supports the UAE against any threat by Iran.
"One of the things we are doing is looking at a series of options for increasing support for the UAE if direct threats emerged and there are discussions going on around the options for reinforcing our support to the UAE and coordinating with our American and French allies to do that."
Talking to media in Abu Dhabi on Monday, Hammond stressed the need for Tehran to desist from its pursuit of nuclear weapons. He expressed hope that following the recent decision to resume talks by countries of the E3+3 (UK, US, France, Germany, Russia and China), Iran will use this opportunity to show the world that it wants a peaceful, negotiated solution to the nuclear issue.
On his first visit to the UAE since he assumed the office five months ago, Hammond held talks with General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and military commanders at Al Dhafra airbase.
Stability
They discussed ways to expand avenues of cooperation, especially in fields related to military and defence in light of serving the mutual interests of both nations and supporting all efforts that aim towards achieving peace, security, and stability in the region.
They also discussed recent regional and international developments, and a number of topics of mutual interest.
Calling his talks on Monday "extremely productive and informative", Hammond said: "This is not a single visit, this is part of a deliberate decision on the part of the current UK coalition government to increase the level of engagement and cooperation between the UK and the UAE."
The UAE and UK had signed a Defence Cooperation Accord in 1996, setting arrangements for the two countries' shared security and defence interests — one of Britain's largest defence commitments outside Nato.
The UK has been committed to preserve peace in the region with a continuous Royal Navy presence in the Gulf since the 1980s.
Allies
Hammond said his country, which has continuous Royal Navy presence in the Gulf since the 1980s, will maintain this presence to keep sea lanes open and to provide support to allies such as the UAE.
HMS Daring, one of UK's newest and most formidable Type 45 destroyers, is currently on patrol along with a number of other Royal Navy vessels, including minesweepers. Hammond said the UK and UAE were engaged in protecting shipping off the Horn of Africa to tackle piracy and worked together in the lead-up to the London Conference on Somalia last month, stressing his country's support to the conference on counter-piracy due to be held in the UAE in June.
The British Defence Secretary said the two nations have many strategic interests ranging from commerce to regional security and from trade to diplomacy.
It is estimated that as many as 100,000 British citizens live in the UAE and around a million visit every year and over 4,000 British businesses operate in the country. He praised the leadership the UAE is showing in the important role it is playing with the Arab League effort to tackle the crisis in Syria, Libya and Afghanistan.
