UAE joins Arab security council talks

The United Arab Emirates, led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, took part in the 43rd session of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers on 1 April, with the meeting held by videoconference and attended by interior ministers and senior security officials from across the Arab world. The session brought together representatives of the League of Arab States, Naif Arab University for Security Sciences and the Arab Police Sports Federation, placing regional security coordination at the centre of discussions.

Sheikh Saif told the gathering the session was taking place at a moment of mounting strain across the region, as Gulf states and other countries confront a deteriorating security environment. According to the UAE’s official account of the meeting, he said the country remained secure under the leadership of President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, citing the preparedness of the armed forces, the cohesion of society and the strength of ties with partner states. He also said the UAE stood ready, in coordination with fellow Gulf Cooperation Council members, to provide support and assistance when needed.

The meeting agenda extended beyond statements of solidarity. Participants reviewed the General Secretariat’s report covering activities between the 42nd and 43rd sessions, as well as a report from Naif Arab University for Security Sciences on its work over the same period. Ministers also examined the draft second phase of the updated Arab strategy to combat terrorism, alongside recommendations produced by conferences and meetings organised by the General Secretariat and the outcomes of joint sessions with Arab and international bodies.

That agenda reflects the Council’s longstanding role as one of the Arab world’s principal forums for internal security coordination. Naif Arab University’s institutional description says the body emerged from meetings of Arab interior ministers beginning in 1977, was formally established in 1980 and ratified in 1982, with its General Secretariat based in Tunis. Its remit includes enhancing cooperation in internal security, coordinating crime-prevention efforts, reviewing annual reports, supporting security agencies with limited capabilities and shaping joint Arab security plans.

Other Arab states used the session to underline the same sense of strain. Qatar, whose delegation was led by Minister of State for Interior Affairs Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Faisal bin Mohammed Al-Thani, said the meeting came amid complex security conditions affecting states in the region and argued that this had increased the burden on security agencies. The Qatari account stressed the need for stronger information-sharing, training, capacity-building and coordinated responses to contemporary threats, language that mirrored the wider emphasis on practical security cooperation rather than rhetoric alone.

For the UAE, participation in this session carried both diplomatic and domestic significance. Diplomatically, it allowed Abu Dhabi to project continuity in Arab security cooperation at a time of heightened regional tension. Domestically, Sheikh Saif’s remarks were calibrated to reassure the public and regional partners alike that the country’s institutions remain resilient. His comments linked national readiness with collective Gulf coordination, signalling that the UAE sees its internal security posture and its regional alliances as mutually reinforcing rather than separate tracks.

The inclusion of the League of Arab States and Naif Arab University also pointed to a broader trend in Arab security governance: the blending of ministerial decision-making with specialist policy, training and research support. Naif Arab University describes itself as the scientific body affiliated with the Council, tasked with research, field studies, training and cooperation on policing, crime prevention and related legal and social issues. That structure gives the Council a mechanism to move from political declarations towards technical follow-through, particularly in areas such as counter-terrorism, policing standards and institutional capacity-building.

No sweeping public policy shift emerged immediately from the session, but the meeting showed that Arab interior ministries are placing renewed weight on coordination as conflict and cross-border threats test state capacity. For the UAE, the appearance of Sheikh Saif at the head of the delegation reinforced the political importance attached to the forum. For the wider region, the 43rd session served as a reminder that interior ministries are increasingly being asked to manage not only traditional policing and border functions, but also the fallout from a more volatile regional order, where security planning, intelligence exchange and crisis coordination are moving higher up the Arab agenda.