UAE issues rare denial of 'imperial ambitions' in Africa

UAE issues rare denial of 'imperial ambitions' in Africa Submitted by MEE staff on Mon, 08/17/2026 - 18:53 Expert says UAE's denial contains 'flawed logic', as it bolsters militias and scoops up key assets in Africa This handout picture, released by the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on 30 October 2025, shows RSF members reportedly detaining a fighter known as Abu Lulu (L) in El-Fasher, in war-torn Sudan’s western Darfur region (RSF/AFP) Off The UAE has pushed back against a Financial Times (FT) article charting the Gulf state’s growing military and economic footprint in Africa. In a rare rebuttal published by the FT on Monday, the UAE’s director of strategic communications, Afra al-Hameli, said Abu Dhabi was “disappointed” that the newspaper portrayed it as pursuing an “imperial ambition” in Africa. “To describe partnerships negotiated with sovereign African governments as evidence of ‘imperial ambition’ is deeply patronising,” Hameli wrote.