00:00The UAE is now entering the second week of a conflict it did not initiate,
00:05facing daily attacks while trying to stop the crisis from spiraling into a wider regional war.
00:12I spoke with Lana Nasebi, the UAE Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
00:17and its former ambassador to the United Nations,
00:20about the country's response to those attacks, where its red lines are,
00:24and how the country is working to protect itself under daily missile attack.
00:31We've had an incredibly challenging 14 days.
00:34We're two weeks into this conflict that, as you said, we did not want to be drawn into.
00:39In fact, we were very engaged in diplomatic efforts prior to this escalation
00:43to try and avoid a conflict in the region.
00:45But now that it has happened, I think the UAE has demonstrated two or three things.
00:50First of all, that it prioritizes the protection, the security, and the well-being of its resident and Emirati population.
00:58Second, you've seen that our economy is very resilient.
01:01So people are back at work.
01:04We will have a bounce back in our economy this year.
01:07I have no doubt about that.
01:08It is a safe place to work and do business.
01:11And thirdly, you see that everyone has rallied around the model
01:14that is being attacked in the UAE and the Gulf as islands of stability and prosperity.
01:20No one is signed up to the model that Iran is propagating
01:24with its illegal and unlawful attacks on all the Gulf region, which have been egregious.
01:30I think the priority right now is defending the country against these attacks
01:35and ensuring it doesn't disrupt normal life.
01:37But of course, we have been preparing for various scenarios in a very turbulent region for decades.
01:43So these are not new plans.
01:45We have had contingency plans in place since prior to this point.
01:51In terms of Europe and the partners that are helping,
01:53without compromising national security or elements like that,
01:57how are you protecting the nation and how are the international partners involved?
02:01I think they're coming in because they recognize that UAE interests are, in fact, global interests.
02:07They're, of course, the wider regional stability of Europe
02:10and the Eastern Mediterranean is incredibly important.
02:13But globally, the Straits of Hormuz, a fifth of the world's energy supplies,
02:18passes through that narrow waterway.
02:20And this has an impact on not only global energy prices,
02:24but global food security and food supplies.
02:27The UN has estimated that there's been an 18% increase in their ability
02:31to give aid to those most in need in terms of food insecurity, for example, as a result of this.
02:37So Iran must not be allowed to hold the global economy hostage by its rogue state behavior.
02:45Is there a red line in all of this?
02:48I think fundamentally the red lines are the security, the prosperity, the well-being of our Emirati community
02:55and our expatriate community here.
02:58We consider all of them part of this country and they deserve our protection.
03:02So that is our red line.
03:04Don't touch this model.
03:05Don't touch this model.
03:05Don't touch this model.
03:07Don't touch this model.
03:08Don't touch this model.
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