Ukraine, UAE agree to cooperate on defence, says Zelensky

2026-03-28 - 13:10

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and UAE president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan agreed to cooperate in the field of security and defence. (AFP pic) KYIV: Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky said today he had met with UAE president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and that they had agreed to cooperate in the field of security and defence. “Our teams will finalise the details,” Zelensky said on the Telegram app. The two leaders tackled opportunities to advance bilateral cooperation under the Comprehensive Economic Agreement between the two sides, the Emirati state news agency WAM said, without further elaborating. “They also discussed the security developments and military escalation in the region and their impact on international navigation and the global economy,” WAM added. Zelensky arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, where the Saudi defence ministry signed an agreement on defence cooperation with Ukraine’s defence ministry. The Ukrainian leader also arrived in Qatar today. Ukraine’s foreign minister said on Friday Kyiv was close to clinching several security agreements, including with the UAE and Qatar, to counter Iranian attacks.