In recognition of the increasing importance of Australia’s bilateral relationships with the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, the Australian Embassy was established in Abu Dhabi in 1999 with concurrent diplomatic accreditation to Qatar.

Our relationships span a wide variety of areas such as defence and security issues to aviation, health and education. With over 100 flights per week to Australia from the UAE and Qatar, our country is increasingly seen as an attractive destination for investment, tourism and tertiary education. At the same time our trade relationships have increased dramatically to over $6 billion in 2010-11.