President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with President Mohamed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates to affirm the strong bilateral ties between the United States and the UAE and to express appreciation to the UAE for organizing COP28 in Dubai.  The President asked Vice President Harris to attend the COP28 Leaders Summit on his behalf to showcase U.S. global leadership on climate at home and abroad and to help galvanize increased global ambition at this critical event.  The United States delegation will also include Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and dozens of senior U.S. officials representing more than 20 departments and agencies. The two leaders also discussed the situation in the Middle East region and welcomed the recent hostage deal and humanitarian pause, which has enabled a surge in assistance to the people of Gaza. President Biden reiterated the steadfast U.S. commitment to peace and security in the Middle East region.