هند مانع العتيبة Hend Al Otaiba

Founder & CEO - HAO Strategies | Former UAE Ambassador to France

[هند مانع العتيبة Hend Al Otaiba @hend_mana]

This morning I opened the MEPRA UAE Leadership Majlis 2026 with a keynote on Emerging Stronger: Shaping What Comes Next.

The discussion focused on what recent months have revealed about the UAE: that trust, credibility and stability are strategic assets built over time and tested during periods of uncertainty. While the region faced heightened tensions, the UAE remained focused on security, progress and long-term priorities.

As communicators, we have a responsibility to ensure that story is understood clearly and accurately. We are, ultimately, the guardians of how this country is understood.

[MEPRA @MEPRA_org]

MEPRA is honoured to welcome H.E. Hend Al Otaiba, Founder & CEO of HAO Strategies, MEPRA Fellow, and Senior Leader in Strategic Communications and Global Affairs, to deliver our opening keynote.

Her Excellency previously served as the UAE Ambassador to France. Her work has helped shape strategic communications, diplomacy and global engagement for the UAE.

🗓️ 23 June 2026
⏰ 8:30 AM – 1:30 PM GST
📍 Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas, Abu Dhabi

Registration closes today, register here: https://t.co/UTw76JVJ4b

#MEPRA25 #MEPRAat25 #MEPRAMajlis #MEPRALeadershipMajlis #MiddleEastPR

[هند مانع العتيبة Hend Al Otaiba @hend_mana]

Eight major global financial institutions, representing $4.4 trillion in assets, established operations in ADGM across March and April, among them Bain Capital, Barings, Hillhouse, and Carlyle. Licences issued by ADGM in March 2026 rose to 284, up from 270 the year before.

This is what the Capital of Capital looks like in practice: a jurisdiction where global investment gravitates because the platform offers predictability, institutional depth, and frameworks that hold under pressure.

Abu Dhabi was tested over the past months, and it held. The foundations built over decades are doing exactly what they were designed to do.

[هند مانع العتيبة Hend Al Otaiba @hend_mana]

Yesterday, Iran attacked the UAE again, in direct violation of a ceasefire it had just agreed to. That is not a grey area, and it cannot be deferred.

Iran must be held fully liable for damages and reparations, the Strait of Hormuz must reopen unconditionally, and UNSC Resolution 2817 is not a reference point for negotiation. It is a binding obligation.

The UAE did not enter this conflict. It successfully defended against it, and continues to function throughout these unprovoked attacks. That resilience was deliberate, and so is this position.

Any framework that enables, or encourages, ceasefire conditions that can be malignly leveraged to restart hostilities, is not a framework for peace.

What comes next must be comprehensive. The issues of nuclear, ballistic, proxy networks, and maritime must be considered in aggregate, not as individual issues that can be traded and leveraged. That has been the consistent position from the beginning, and yesterday has removed any lingering doubt about why it has to be that way.

[هند مانع العتيبة Hend Al Otaiba @hend_mana]

The UAE joined OPEC in 1967. After nearly sixty years, it’s leaving.

This decision reflects a country that has consistently chosen long-term strategic planning over short-term considerations, and that has the capacity to back its choices with sustained delivery.

A $150 billion ADNOC investment program. Five million barrels per day by 2027, three years ahead of schedule. Global energy demands are rising and the UAE will do more to meet them.

These are never simple decisions. But the UAE has never let complexity become an excuse for standing still.

[هند مانع العتيبة Hend Al Otaiba @hend_mana]

Since February 28, Iran has waged this conflict on multiple fronts simultaneously: ballistic missiles, proxy forces, covert financial networks, and ideological cells. The UAE has confronted all of them.

The State Security Department this week arrested 27 members of a clandestine organisation operating under the Wilayat Al Faqih doctrine, the principle of clerical guardianship enshrined in Iran’s constitution since the 1979 revolution and Tehran’s primary instrument for projecting loyalty across borders. These individuals were recruiting Emirati youth with misleading ideas, coordinating across borders, and moving funds through unofficial channels toward sensitive targets on UAE soil.

Last month, a separate network funded and directed by Hezbollah and Iran was dismantled after it had been operating under a fake commercial cover to infiltrate the national economy.

The UAE Armed Forces intercepted 537 ballistic missiles, 26 cruise missiles, and 2,256 drones during this conflict. It is applying the same depth and precision to every other layer of the threat.

[هند مانع العتيبة Hend Al Otaiba @hend_mana]

Today I joined leaders from across the world at the Abu Dhabi Global Entrepreneurship Festival 2026, for the Women in Business and Leadership panel.

Here is what I know to be true: influence is not given. It is built. Women who lead at the highest levels do so through trust earned across institutions, sectors, and borders. That trust is a strategic asset. So is the grit it takes to build it.

Abu Dhabi understands this. That is why these conversations matter here.

[هند مانع العتيبة Hend Al Otaiba @hend_mana]

@jonnydgannon Thought-provoking observation. Stability often depends as much on calibration as on control.

[هند مانع العتيبة Hend Al Otaiba @hend_mana]

The UAE was never built on the assumption that this region would be easy. That decision, made over decades, is what you are seeing play out now.

Since the conflict began, the UAE’s sovereign institutions have not slowed down. Mubadala closed a major exit at 15 times return, joined a US-led consortium on critical energy and mineral supply chains alongside SoftBank and Temasek, and closed a Brazil fund above target. These are not isolated signals. They reflect a system designed to function under pressure, and one that is proving it can.

Global asset managers with more than $20 trillion under management have reassessed their position in this region under real pressure. BlackRock, State Street, and others reached the same conclusion: the UAE is a market they must invest in. Bain Capital is opening its Abu Dhabi office now.

The UAE has navigated difficult chapters before. Not this exact one, but building with conviction through uncertainty is not new to us. That experience shaped how these institutions were designed, how decisions get made under pressure, and why they hold.

Uncertainty remains, and anyone serious about this region knows it. But we have not stopped, we have not wavered, and we have not changed course. The foundations were laid for exactly this and they are holding.

[هند مانع العتيبة Hend Al Otaiba @hend_mana]

Over 40 days, 2,819 missiles and drones struck energy infrastructure and civilian sites across the UAE. Despite the Emirates’ phenomenal achievement in protecting the homeland via its advanced interception capabilities and military skill, the human and material cost will not be forgotten. A ceasefire is only the beginning of the next phase, not a solution, and it is clear we will face an unacceptable level of uncertainty for a period. Durable security in this region requires addressing the policy foundations of instability: nuclear, ballistic, proxy, and maritime threats together. That said, the UAE has grown and thrived over a period of decades which saw more than their fair share of regional crises and uncertainty - resilience to such an environment is baked into our system and our policy, and we will not let it hold us back even as we do what we must to confront those who stand against progress in our region.

[هند مانع العتيبة Hend Al Otaiba @hend_mana]

@Osint613 The Arabian Gulf.

[هند مانع العتيبة Hend Al Otaiba @hend_mana]

Proud to be building HAO Strategies from Abu Dhabi. Grateful for the trust of those who continue to collaborate on meaningful projects that connect ideas, institutions, and opportunities. 🇦🇪🌍

https://t.co/S7l1rjmTkX

[هند مانع العتيبة Hend Al Otaiba @hend_mana]

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan walking among people in Dubai mall reflects a country that remains steady and confident. Even amid regional tension, the UAE continues with composure and quiet assurance. Daily life goes on, anchored in preparedness, strength, and trust in our leadership.

[Dubai Media Office @DXBMediaOffice]

UAE President and Hamdan bin Mohammed
📍 Dubai Mall
🕘 9:00 PM | 2 March 2026

Close to the people. Steady in leadership.

[The National @TheNationalNews]

The Ministry of Defence said the UAE’s air defences intercepted nine ballistic missiles, six cruise missiles and 148 drones on Monday.

Since the start of the Iranian attack, 174 ballistic missiles have been detected, of which 161 were destroyed and 13 fell into the sea. The ministry said 689 drones were detected and 645 were intercepted, while 44 fell within the country’s territory. Eight cruise missiles were also detected and destroyed. The attacks resulted in three fatalities and 68 minor injuries, alongside minor to moderate damage to a number of civilian facilities.

The ministry described the targeting as a ‘blatant act of aggression’ and a ‘flagrant violation of national sovereignty and international law’, and said the UAE reserves its full right to respond.

[وزارة الدفاع |MOD UAE @modgovae]

The Ministry of Defence has announced that the UAE air force and air defence forces have so far dealt with 165 ballistic missiles, two cruise missiles and 541 Iranian drones since the start of the Iranian attack.

The ministry said that on the morning of the second day of the attack, UAE air force and air defence forces destroyed 20 ballistic missiles, while eight missiles fell into the sea. They also destroyed two cruise missiles and 311 drones. However, 21 drones struck civilian targets. The ministry affirmed the capability of the UAE air force and air defence to address various threats.

It explained that since the beginning of the Iranian attack on 28th February, 2026, 165 ballistic missiles launched from Iran towards the UAE have been detected. Of these, 152 were destroyed, while 13 fell into sea waters. Two cruise missiles were also detected and destroyed.

A total of 541 Iranian drones were detected, of which 506 were intercepted and destroyed, while 35 fell within the country, causing material damage. The incidents resulted in three fatalities of Pakistani, Nepali and Bangladeshi nationalities, and 58 minor injuries among Emirati, Egyptian, Ethiopian, Filipino, Pakistani, Iranian, Indian, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Azerbaijani, Yemeni, Ugandan, Eritrean, Lebanese and Afghan nationals.

The ministry indicated that some debris fell in various areas of the country as a result of air defence systems intercepting ballistic missiles and drones, leading to minor to moderate material damage to a number of civilian properties.

The ministry expressed its full readiness to address any threats and stressed that the safety of citizens, residents and visitors remains a top priority that cannot be compromised.

#وزارة_الدفاع
#وزارة_الدفاع_الإماراتية
#MOD
#UAEMinistryOfDefence

[هند مانع العتيبة Hend Al Otaiba @hend_mana]

In moments of regional volatility, preparedness is the true measure of statecraft. The UAE Ministry of Defence confirmed that our air defence systems successfully engaged and managed incoming threats, demonstrating defence resilience and sustained strategic preparedness.

This reflects decades of deliberate investment, strategic foresight, and disciplined institutional coordination focused on safeguarding every citizen and resident. The UAE does not seek escalation, but it will act decisively to protect its people and defend its sovereignty. Confidence in our capabilities rests on wise leadership, long-term planning, and a highly integrated defence architecture built to secure the nation and uphold its stability.