United Arab Emirates

The Trucial States of the Persian Gulf coast granted the UK control of their defense and foreign affairs in 19th century treaties. In 1971 six of these states - Abu Dhabi 'Ajman Al Fujayrah Ash Shariqah Dubayy and Umm al Qaywayn - merged to form the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They were joined in 1972 by Ra's al Khaymah. The UAE's per capita GDP is on par with those of leading West European nations. For more than three decades oil and global finance drove the UAE's economy. However in 2008-09 the confluence of falling oil prices collapsing real estate prices and the international banking crisis hit the UAE especially hard. The UAE essentially avoided the \"Arab Spring\" unrest seen elsewhere in the Middle East in 2010-11 and in an effort to stem potential unrest the government announced a multi-year $1.6-billion infrastructure investment plan for the poorer northern emirates and aggressively pursued advocates of political reform. The UAE in recent years has played a vital role in regional affairs. In addition to donating billions of dollars in economic aid to help stabilize Egypt the UAE is a member of a US-led global coalition to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and a coalition partner in a Saudi-led military campaign to restore the government of Yemen.