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Ukraine, UAE agree to cooperate on defence, Zelenskiy says

By Thomson Reuters Mar 28, 2026 | 4:44 AM

KYIV, March 28 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday he had met with ​United Arab Emirates 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,” Zelenskiy 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.

Zelenskiy 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 on Saturday.

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.

(Reporting by Olena Harmash and Jaidaa Taha; Editing by ​Jan Harvey)