Ambassador Mansoor Abulhoul has served as the United Arab Emirates’ Ambassador to the United Kingdom since June 2019.
Ambassador Abulhoul’s focus is on developing the long-standing close relationship between the UK and the UAE.
The key character of the relationship is partnership. Since his appointment, the UAE has invested over £10 billion in the UK economy via the UAE-UK Sovereign Investment Partnership and launched a new, ambitious Partnership for the Future with the UK, illustrating the strengthening ties between the two nations. The UK has welcomed the Abraham Accords which Israel signed with the UAE and Bahrain in 2020, and takes a strong interest in the opportunities for diplomatic co-operation that have come from this ground-breaking move.
The UK was a key advocate of both Expo 2020 in Dubai, and the forthcoming COP28 meetings in Dubai. The UAE, as Chair of the COP28 process, draws support and assistance from the UK and the King himself. This support is not just to the UAE as hosts, but to the difficult but important steps that the world must now undertake.
With British and Emirati parents, Ambassador Abulhoul is part of a family with deep connections in both the UK and UAE. He attended schools in the UAE and Scotland, later studying at the University of Leeds. After graduating, he spent three years working in finance in both Dubai and London before managing his family’s UAE-based business.
Ambassador Abulhoul has developed a personal ‘cycle diplomacy’ programme, whereby he is cycling – in intermittent sections – from John o’ Groats to Land’s End. This has enabled him to use his passion for cycling to meet, listen and learn, while fostering deeper cultural understanding throughout the UK, not just the capital. In the process, Ambassador Abulhoul is raising funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital, which has a historic connection with the UAE. One of the many highlights so far was attending COP26 in Glasgow as part of his tour across Scotland, energising his own efforts in the buildup to COP28.
The Ambassador and his wife, who is French, met through their mutual interest in horseracing. The couple have a young son and daughter.
