A UAE delegation made major investment pledges in Damascus this week, signaling Abu Dhabi’s growing comfort with Syria’s new leadership after a long period of trailing Saudi Arabia and Qatar in rebuilding ties. The UAE had been wary of President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s Islamist roots, but officials now increasingly see Syria as a strategic Arab ally after Tehran’s attacks on Gulf states and Damascus’ public alignment with the Gulf.
While much of the focus of the recent UAE visit was on economic development — with Emaar founder Mohamed Alabbar detailing almost $18 billion in tourism and real estate projects — there were also religious and cultural exchanges aimed at fostering deeper ties. Emirati-Syrian businessman Abdulkader Al Sankari said Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, the mother of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, had committed to renovating the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and the ancient districts surrounding it. The area contains artifacts connected to the three Abrahamic religions, and Alabbar quipped that if it were in Dubai it would attract tens of millions of tourists a year.