00:00C'est parti de la seconde week de cette conflit,
00:10une conflit que vous n'avez pas commencé, mais n'est pas nécessaire que vous avez été en train de
00:14finir.
00:16Comment vous pouvez-vous faire de cette conflit?
00:20Merci, Tobi, pour avoir me. Je pense que, comme vous avez dit, et que vous vivez ici avec votre famille,
00:25la vie a pretty much gone back to near normal in the UAE.
00:28So we've had an incredibly challenging 14 days.
00:31We're two weeks into this conflict that, as you said, we did not want to be drawn into.
00:35In fact, we were very engaged in diplomatic efforts prior to this escalation
00:40to try and avoid conflict in the region.
00:42But now that it has happened, I think the UAE has demonstrated two or three things.
00:47First of all, that it prioritises the protection, the security and the well-being
00:52of its resident and Emirati population.
00:55Our UAE air defence systems are best in class.
00:59They're honed over decades of investment, practice in real battles around the world
01:06as part of coalitions to counter everything from terrorism,
01:09to stabilise conflict settings like the Balkans, to liberate Kuwait in Libya, in Afghanistan.
01:17And so I think you see that the UAE armed forces have kept our communities and our residents safe.
01:23Second, you've seen that our economy is very resilient.
01:25So people are back at work.
01:28We will have a bounce back in our economy this year.
01:30I have no doubt about that.
01:32It is a safe place to work and do business.
01:34And thirdly, you see that everyone has rallied around the model
01:38that is being attacked in the UAE and the Gulf as islands of stability and prosperity.
01:43No one is signed up to the model that Iran is propagating with its illegal and unlawful
01:49attacks on all the Gulf region, which have been egregious.
01:54And this was rebuked resoundingly by the UN Security Council resolution
01:58that was adopted the day before yesterday.
02:02A hundred and thirty six countries co-sponsored that UN Security Council resolutions
02:06that called these attacks unlawful, that called on Iran to stop,
02:10and that called on Iran that it had obligations to keep the Straits of Hormuz open.
02:15Iran is isolated on the world stage.
02:18Talk about the attacks.
02:19At the moment, the UAE is defending itself and trying to prevent a regional conflict.
02:24How difficult is that balance?
02:26I think the priority right now is defending the country against these attacks
02:31and ensuring it doesn't disrupt normal life.
02:33But of course, we have been preparing
02:35for various scenarios in a very turbulent region for decades.
02:39So these are not new plans.
02:40We have had contingency plans in place since prior to this point.
02:46You remember in Dubai, the Houthi attacks on the 17th of January in 2022.
02:52This kind of asymmetric warfare was something that we have built into our system.
02:57We've also built into our system resilience in our food supply,
03:01in our market supply, in our access to global goods.
03:04We are a global logistics hub.
03:06We connect destinations from Dubai, for example, to over 155 destinations around the world.
03:12Our economy is structurally sound and honed over decades.
03:17So I think you will see this economy and this country come through this stronger
03:21because we adapt.
03:22We're not only resilient, we adapt to crisis and we adapt to change.
03:26We take the safety and security of the 500,000 European residents, for example,
03:33who reside here.
03:34And I know that's a domestic audience that you are also speaking to incredibly seriously.
03:40And I think our trade ties with Europe at 65 billion euros a year
03:47is a robust signal that we are also open for investment.
03:51So we're negotiating a free trade agreement with the European Union at the moment.
03:54European partners have come in to assist us and to also protect their own communities here in the UAE.
04:01I want to just touch on that European part that you mentioned.
04:04I understand from sources that, you know, the French, the Italians and others are involved.
04:10In those conversations with governments from the region, what has been your message to them?
04:15The Europeans have been incredibly supportive, not only because of the resident communities here
04:21that they are also trying to assist, but because of the strong partnerships and relationships
04:25that we have invested in over the years with European allies and partners.
04:30And so His Highness the President has received over 100 phone calls from around the world.
04:35But 40 countries, 41 countries actually from Europe, co-sponsored this UN Security Council resolution in 2018-17.
04:42And the EU has come out with a strong statement welcoming the adoption of this resolution.
04:47I think, you know, the higher representative, Kaya Callas, has called for a meeting a couple of times
04:52with all of us in the region.
04:54We've had a number of dialogues with her.
04:56President Ursula van der Leyen has also had at the head of state level consultations
05:00with a number of us in the region and directly with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed.
05:04We're in constant touch.
05:05There's constant support.
05:06There is a lot of offers for assistance.
05:09And we're grateful for that partnership.
05:11And we are definitely doubling down on our engagement with Europe.
05:16In terms of Europe and the partners that are helping,
05:18without compromising national security or elements like that,
05:22how are you protecting the nation and how are the international partners involved?
05:26We're in a state of high alert here in the UAE.
05:30But the partnerships are, you know, I think important as part of the grid and the layering,
05:35a multi-layering air defence system that we have here in place in the country.
05:40The primary brunt of the work is, of course, done by the UAE Armed Defence Forces.
05:46And I'd like to pay tribute to the incredible work they have been doing in keeping us all safe.
05:51But not just in keeping us safe, but in allowing our national airlines, Emirates and Ittihad,
05:56to go up to 50 percent return to normalcy in Emirates, for example.
06:01And Ittihad is also on its way up.
06:04You will see that in terms of stranded passengers,
06:08the majority who have wanted to leave have left.
06:10Many have chosen to stay and continue their holidays here.
06:13And the residents of the UAE, I think, have really rallied around the idea that this is their home.
06:18They have planted roots here.
06:20They feel protected by the government here.
06:22The government also represents them.
06:24So I think all in all, we've had a challenging experience.
06:28But what our air defence system has shown is that it's best in class.
06:32You mentioned France.
06:33You mentioned Italy, the United Kingdom also,
06:36and others who have offered and who are coming in to work with us in this challenging time.
06:42But they're not coming in because they are protecting UAE interests.
06:46I think they're coming in because they recognise that UAE interests are, in fact, global interests.
06:53They're, of course, the wider regional stability of Europe and the Mediterranean is incredibly important.
06:58But globally, the Straits of Hormuz, a fifth of the world's energy supplies,
07:03passes through that narrow waterway.
07:05And this has an impact on not only global energy prices, but global food security and food supplies.
07:12The UN has estimated that there's been an 18% increase in their ability to give aid to those most
07:18in need in terms of food insecurity,
07:20for example, as a result of this.
07:22So Iran must not be allowed to hold the global economy hostage by its rogue state behaviour.
07:30Now, obviously, you're one of many countries impacted here.
07:33But what role can the UAE play from both an energy perspective and perhaps food security too?
07:38Well, I think the UAE continues to be a global logistics hub in both all our ports,
07:45in our airports, in our humanitarian city, for the supply of food and essential goods and humanitarian aid around the
07:53world.
07:53That's first and foremost.
07:54And that has not been and will not be interrupted by these challenges that Iran is posing to the region.
08:02Secondly, I think in terms of energy supply, we are a responsible and committed supplier to the global energy market.
08:08And we will continue to do what we can.
08:10But we are also very frank with our partners, as have other suppliers in the region been,
08:16that unless UN Security Council Resolution 2817 is enforced, and it is binding on Iran that they abide by it,
08:24there are going to be ramifications.
08:26There are going to be implications for global energy prices.
08:31And that will also impact bills in grocery stores, bills in petrol stations, the price of food.
08:40So it's important today that Europe understand, and this would be my message to my European friends and partners.
08:46First and foremost, thank you.
08:48We're grateful to you.
08:49We're grateful to the community of Europeans living here who call this place home.
08:52We're proud of the resilience and the adaptability that you've shown in these challenging times.
08:58We're proud, as our president has said, to call you partners of the UAE in our nation building enterprise.
09:03But secondly, what you are defending here is not only the UAE.
09:07What you are defending here is a model.
09:10It's a model of coexistence, of tolerance, of peace for the wider region.
09:15So if you're against those things, then you are in the camp of Iran and these rogue state actors that
09:23are trying to export nihilism to the whole international system.
09:27I don't think we can allow that to happen on our watch.
09:29Do you think in some ways, because obviously this has always been a nation of peace, it's a tourist destination,
09:34it's a business hub.
09:35In some ways, do you think what's happening now will change this country or this region forever?
09:41We grew from a pearl diving economy into a global exporter, not only of hydrocarbons, but of commodity, of foreign
09:49direct investment, of clean energy, of AI.
09:53We're a country that is looking to an AI future.
09:55We've got a $1.5 trillion investment with the United States in AI data centers.
10:01We've got similar investments in Europe and Italy and France in AI data centers.
10:06We're building those here.
10:07We're an economy of the future.
10:09We always adapt in crisis.
10:11We respond.
10:12We're flexible.
10:13We don't promise that the regional environment can be entirely controlled.
10:18It cannot.
10:18I think that's a false promise.
10:20But we do promise that we will keep our country safe.
10:24We will keep our residents safe.
10:25In terms of Emirates and Etihad, you know, you've got these messages from the international community saying, quick, get on
10:31these emergency flights.
10:32Yet at the same time, you hear from people here that the flights at times are half empty and there's
10:37plenty of capacity.
10:38How hard is it from your perspective when some international audiences are saying one thing and yet the reality is
10:44completely different?
10:45When this broke out, some passengers and tourists opted to leave.
10:49Many opted to stay.
10:50As you said, some of these flights are half empty.
10:53But I think some governments, for domestic reasons, felt compelled to show that they were offering that service to the
11:01UAE.
11:01A number of other European countries called us up and said, look, we know the best way out of the
11:06UAE is for the airlines to be fully operational.
11:09We'll do everything to help make that happen.
11:12And I think you'll see that actually the numbers have dwindled.
11:14What needs to happen is Iran needs to desist from its attacks, needs to understand that it cannot behave as
11:21a regional bully.
11:22It needs to understand that it is isolated on the international stage, that the model here is resilient, that it's
11:27tough, that it's adaptable and that we will overcome this.
11:30But they may not if they don't choose to go to the negotiating table at some point with the United
11:35States and find a compromise out of this.
11:38We are always for, in the future, diplomatic solutions to conflicts.
11:43We don't believe in military escalation, but we're tough when what we have fought so hard to build is challenged.
11:49And we will be tough through this.
11:51Thank you, Your Excellency.
11:52Thank you.
11:53Thank you.
11:53Thank you.
11:53Thank you.
11:53Thank you.
11:53Thank you.
11:55Thank you.
11:55Thank you.
11:55Thank you.
11:55– Sous-titrage FR 2021
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