Yousef Al Otaiba
Professional affiliation
Expertise
- Middle East and North Africa
- Governance
- Human rights
- Conflict resolution and peace-building
- U.S. Foreign Policy
- Security and Defense
Full Biography
Since 2008, His Excellency Yousef Al Otaiba has served as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ambassador to the United States (US). He soon received recognition as Ambassador of the Year by the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce in 2010, and became a Minister of State for the Emirates in 2017.
In 2020, Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba published an Israeli opinion piece that quickly gained international coverage for bringing about the Abraham Accords signing. The normalization deal marked a historic milestone in the Middle East peace process, as well as the first Arab-Israel agreement in 25 years.
Al Otaiba is involved in various charities and philanthropic initiatives both as a private citizen and through his work as Ambassador of the UAE, with most of his efforts focused towards public health, humanitarian relief and community organizations. He has made contributions towards Polio eradication, coronavirus response efforts and Children’s National Medical Center. Additionally, he oversees the embassy’s Community Soccer Program and the UAE USA United campaign, which promotes unity through culture, art, trade and security.
Outside of his work at the UAE Embassy in Washington, DC, Ambassador Al Otaiba serves on the Special Olympics Board of Directors. He holds additional board member positions for the Harvard Kennedy School and the American University in Cairo.
Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba’s educational background includes his time at Cairo American College, Georgetown University and the Industrial College of the US Armed Forces at National Defense University. He has also hosted Podbridge podcast on behalf of the UAE Embassy.
