At present, roughly 1.7 to 2 million Pakistanis are living in the UAE. This makes Pakistanis the second largest expatriate community in the Emirates after the Indians. Pakistanis account for approximately 16% of the UAE's 11.6 million population. With this in view, at the policy level in Pakistan, it is important to understand UAE's current geopolitical standing both at regional and global level. This will help shed light on many conspiracy theories currently doing the rounds, and more essentially, it will help us adapt our relationship with an important GCC country in a rapidly changing geopolitical environment. To better understand UAE's position during the Iran War, one must first broadly understand UAE's pre-Iran War strategy. Besides this, I also wish to broadly reflect on three other important questions regarding the current UAE geopolitical standing: 1) What is the UAE's current stand from an international relations perspective; 2) Has the UAE alienated itself from the rest of the Gulf States; and 3) Is the UAE still a safe haven for foreign investment?

Like many Gulf states, UAE's pre-Iran War strategy revolved around the important question of how to deal with the Islamic republic in a very uncertain regional environment. The UAE also preferred to maintain close ties with the US and its other Western partners. Besides this, to avoid dependence on a single great power and to protect its role as a global commercial hub, it also maintained close ties with both China and Russia. In 2020, it became the first country to sign the Abraham Accords, and its closer ties with Israel naturally meant a greater distance from the other Gulf states. Post-Abraham Accords,........

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