The UAE and Foreign Policy: Foreign Aid, Identities and Interests

215 Pages·2011·2.46 MB·English

by  Khalid S. Almezaini

The UAE and Foreign Policy
This book offers a concise and detailed analysis of the United Arab Emirates’
(UAE) foreign aid as a main instrument in its foreign policy. Exploring the
cultural factors that have impacted on the foreign policy behaviour of the UAE
and its foreign aid, the author argues that Arabism and Islamic traditions have
shaped the country's foreign policy in general and foreign aid in particular.
Examining in depth the motives and purposes of this large aid programme
through the lens of International Relations theories (IR) (mainly constructivism
and rationalism), the book details the UAE's foreign policy and aid programme
since its inception. Drawing on a comprehensive analysis of two major recipients
of aid from the UAE — Palestine and Pakistan — the focus moves beyond the
UAE to show how cultural factors have impacted on the behaviour of the states
across the wider Arab Middle East.
This critical assessment and analysis of the UAE's foreign policy will be of
particular interest to students, researchers and academics interested in Middle
East studies, the Gulf States, Middle East politics, and foreign aid and foreign
policy.
Khalid S. Almezaini is a visiting research fellow at the Centre for Middle
Eastern and Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge. He is co-editor-in-
chief of the International Journal of Arab Studiesand his research focuses on
Middle East politics, foreign policy, national identities and the political economy
of the Middle East in general and the Gulf states in particular.
The UAE and
Foreign Policy
Foreign aid, identities
and interests
Khalid S. Almezaini
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published 2012
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2012 Khalid S. Almezaini
The right of Khalid S. Almezaini to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the
British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Almezaini, Khalid S.
The UAE and foreign policy: foreign aid, identities and interests/
Khalid S. Almezaini.
p. cm. — (Culture and civilization in the middle east) Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Economic assistance, Emirati. 2. United Arab Emirates — Foreign relations. 3. United Arab Emirates
— Foreign relations — Arab countries.
4. United Arab Emirates - Politics and government. I. Title.
HC60.A4845 2011
338.91095357 - dc22 2011000885
ISBN: 978-0-415-59711-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-81575-5 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon
To my beloved parents
Contents
List of figures
List of tables
Preface
Acknowledgements
List of abbreviations
Introduction
1 Foreign aid and state behaviour in the Arab Middle East: ideas and
interests
2 The UAE political system and foreign policy
3 The UAE foreign aid programme
4 The motivations and purposes of UAE foreign aid
5 UAE aid to Palestine
6 UAE aid to Pakistan
7 Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Figures
1.1 Net ODA 2009
2.1 Contribution of general sectors to the UAE GDP
2.2 UAE GDP excluding oil 2007
3.1 ADG financial summary 1999-2008
3.2 UAERC aid recipients 2009
3.3 UAE foreign aid percentage of GDP 1973-2009
3.4 Distribution of UAE funds by region 2009
3.5 Arab aid donors
4.1 UAE foreign aid over 1 per cent 1973-2009
5.1 UAE assistance to the Palestinians 2009
Tables
1.1 Top ten non-DAC bilateral donors 2007
2.1 Military expenditure in Middle East
3.1 Financial summary of ADFD's operations 1974—88
3.2 ADFD financial summary 1992-7
3.3 ADFD financial summary 1998-2003
3.4 ADFD financial summary 1999-2008
3.5 Geographical distribution of loans and grants 1971-2000
3.6 Geographical distribution of ADFD 1974-1980
3.7 ADFD geographical distribution of loans 1974-2001
3.8 Geographical distribution of loans and grants by the ADG 2000 and 2009
3.9 ADG aid distribution to economic sectors by 2000
3.10 UAERC financial summary 2007 and 2009
3.11 Geographical distribution of aid by Zayed Foundation 1993-9
3.12 Zayed Foundation: types of projects
3.13 Projects of the Dar Al-Ber Society within the UAE
3.14 AFESD capital, resources and status of loans and grants 1972-2009
3.15 AFESD geographical allocation of individual Arab aid across regions
3.16 Co-financing activities of AFESD 1974-2009
3.17 AMF authorised capital and paid-up capital 2009
3.18 AMF total loans extended to member states by type 1978-2009
3.19 Capital subscription in ABED A by member states and vote distribution
2009
3.20 Subscriptions from the Bank's members to ABEDA
3.21 ABEDA summary of technical assistance extended 1975-2003
3.22 ABEDA subscribed and paid-up capital 2008-9
3.23 AGFUND number of projects 1996-2000
3.24 Arab countries that have benefited from AGFUND
3.25 IDB operations and activities to end of 2005
3.26 Total commitments and disbursements of OFID as at 31 December 2009
3.27 The world's top aid donors 1973-91
3.28 UAE's bilateral aid in relation to its GDP 1992-2009
5.1 Ratio of Palestinians and UAE nationals by profession
5.2 UAE aid to Palestine: origins and types of projects
5.3 Palestinian refugees as of 31 December 2009
6.1 Top ten humanitarian donors to Pakistan 2007-8
6.2 Top five non-DAC donors to Pakistan 2008-9
6.3 Geographical distribution of Abu Dhabi Fund loans as at 31 December
2009
6.4 Abu Dhabi government grants 2009
6.5 Top recipients of UAE aid 2009
6.6 Cumulative IDB group operations by major modes of financing 1976-2009
6.7 Financing operations: by country and institution as at 31 December 1999
Preface
The question this study asks is ‘Why do states give aid?’ In particular, ‘Why
does the UAE, a small, rich and developing country, provide aid?’ Although the
former question may seem old, the latter is very new. Analysis of the financial
flows and aid from Arab countries to other developing countries has rarely been
studied. The UAE, as an aid donor, might be surprising, for one thing, because
most Middle Eastern countries are aid recipients. Along with the four main aid
donors in the region (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar), the UAE occupies a
significant position among the world's aid donors. Being the third largest aid
donor in the region and one of the world's most generous countries in relations to
Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the UAE pursues diverse objectives; mainly
humanitarian, moral and diplomatic.
Assessing and analysing the foreign aid of the UAE is a challenge because of
the lack of substantial official and non-official statistics. However, this study has
managed to gather enough statistics to provide a thorough examination of the
country's aid programme. My thesis, begun in 2004-5, contained repeated calls
for the establishment of a bureau to monitor and report UAE aid, yet it was only
after the completion of my studies in 2009 that the UAE government finally set
up an office to coordinate and monitor its foreign aid programme. In June 2010,
the UAE Office for Coordination of Foreign Aid (OCFA) released its first
official report, although it only covers the year 2009.I have used the new
statistics to update my findings.
The aim of this study is to critically examine not only the foreign policy of
UAE, but also to look at the underlying principles in the allocation of the
country's foreign aid. Using and adopting theories of international relations (IR)
to examine aid from Arab oil-producing countries in general and the UAE in
particular, this book will, overall, broaden understanding of aid programmes