'It's an elite matter': UAE confirms it's in talks for swap line loan with US

The UAE confirmed on Monday that it is discussing a currency swap line with the US, framing it as part of entry into an “elite group” of US allies, as fresh Iranian air strikes roiled the country.

"We have this discussion and conversation with many, it's part of an elite group that the US is having this swap policy with. They are only having it with five countries," UAE Trade Minister Thani bin Ahmed al-Zeyoudi said at a conference in Abu Dhabi.

"Being part of that group means that transactions... trade, investments between both nations reach a level where that swap is highly needed...so it is an elite matter, [it] is not about bailing out," he told attendees at the "Make It In The Emirates" event, a government initiative to encourage manufacturing in the UAE.

Zeyoudi’s comments are the first public confirmation from the UAE that it is in talks with the US for access to emergency dollar loans.

Amid the US-Israel war on Iran, a fragile ceasefire in the Gulf was cast into uncertainty on Monday after Iran launched missiles and drones at the UAE. The attack appeared to be in response to the US attempting to send warships through the Strait of Hormuz.

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