Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates — U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, was in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) to review U.S. efforts to strengthen cooperation among Arab Gulf states on missile defense. Donnelly, who is leading a congressional delegation in the Middle East this week, met U.S. military leaders as well as a member of the U.A.E. Ministry of Defense, and toured Emirati missile defense sites.
Donnelly said, “The U.A.E. has been a regional leader in strengthening missile defenses and working to increase collaboration with allies in the Gulf. These partnerships are critical to protecting our troops in the region and our homeland, so it was important for me to review U.A.E. sites firsthand.”
Donnelly’s visit to the U.A.E comes after he was in Israel, where he met with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and toured Israeli military sites to get an update on the country’s missile defense systems and joint missile defense efforts with the U.S. Donnelly also met with Israel Defense Force (IDF) soldiers and the U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro.
Donnelly is Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, which oversees U.S. missile defense programs, as well as U.S. collaborative missile defense programs. As part of his continued support for critical missile defense efforts, Donnelly and Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, recently sent a bipartisan letter to President Obama. Donnelly and Sessions highlighted the importance of investments in U.S. missile defense capabilities, and the need to strengthen our partnerships with allies around the world, particularly Israel.
