United States President Joe Biden had openly acknowledged the enabling role played by United Arab Emirates President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in crystallising the east-west ‘economic corridor’ from India through the Middle East to Europe through rail and port linkages at the just concluded G20 summit held in New Delhi on September 9-10.

Biden said addressing the UAE President, “I would like to say: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.  I don’t think we would be here if it weren’t for you.” It is a rare gesture on the part of the US president. His Highness Sheikh Mohamed was a special invitee at the G20 summit, which was held under India’s presidency.

This was the second time in a row that the UAE had been a special invitee at G20, the first time was in 2022 at Bali when Indonesia was the president. Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed had always been supportive of international collective action for improving the human future. Jamal Al-Harbi, News Relationship Manager in the UAE, said, “Many do not know why President Biden thanked Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed, in front of the world…because Mohamed Bin Zayed came up with the idea of establishing a railway network and trade line between India and the Middle East, as he discussed this giant idea during his talk with the Biden administration six months ago, and soon it will be a reality thanks to his wisdom and genius.”

The UAE President has also played a decisive role in the launch of the Global Biofuel Alliance on the sidelines of the G20 summit, which would greatly help in achieving the net-zero goals in carbon emissions by enabling trade in biofuels derived from natural sources. The UAE had been playing a decisive role through its detailed reports on policy implementation in various sectors of governance because the country had been taking positive and novel steps in dealing with the global economic crisis and also the climate change and the green future that the world has no option but to build. It had participated in 25 ministerial meetings of G20 under India’s presidency.

The out-of-the-box approach of the UAE has been a result of the innovative leadership that the UAE President had provided, and he had been leading from the front, whether it has been forging fresh links with Egypt, Russia or France. That is why Dr. Atiq Jakah Al Mansouri, professor of politics at the UAE University, said that His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed is a leader with a global presence, and that world leaders have noted the pivotal role he plays, in world forums and in projects of strategic importance at the international level. Dr. Mansouri said that Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed combines “inherited leadership qualities with modern leadership skills.”

Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed is empowering UAE in the world affairs in such a way that it can be said that the country is punching above its weight, playing a more strategic role than the size of the country and its economy. And by becoming a key player, the UAE gets to occupy a central role in global consultations dealing with the economy, with issues of peace and conflict. And it can be attributed to the bold and innovative leadership of Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed which helps push UAE to the forefront.

The UAE has been one of the major emerging economies which had bucked the post-Covid trend of struggling to recover growth momentum. The country has once again become a key destination of foreign direct investments even as it invests hugely in other G20 countries. It is gratifying then that the UAE is one of the new players who are shaping global policy and also its major decisions.