ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. first lady Jill Biden toured the capital of the United Arab Emirates on Thursday as part of her final solo foreign tour.
Biden, 73, arrived in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday night after stopping in Italy and visiting her ancestral home of Gesso in Sicily. The UAE, an autocratically ruled federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, has been a key U.S. ally in the region and hosts thousands of American troops. The country’s Jebel Ali port in Dubai also is the U.S. Navy’s busiest port of call outside of the U.S.
The UAE also is a major buyer of Boeing Co. aircraft for its long-haul airlines Emirates and Etihad, and has been focused on winning American support for its push into artificial intelligence.
On Thursday Biden traveled to the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi and Qasr Al Hosn, a historic site. She was expected to speak at a summit later in the day.
Biden has come to the country previously. In March 2016, she accompanied her husband, then the vice president in the last year of the Obama administration, on a trip to the Emirates.
This trip comes after President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden over federal crimes after previously pledging that he wouldn’t. The president dodged questions about the pardon while he was on a trip to Angola.
For her part, Jill Biden on Monday said: “Of course I support the pardon of my son.”
Biden will travel next to nearby Qatar. After that she’ll fly to Paris and join President-elect Donald Trump and other dignitaries in Paris to celebrate the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral. She’ll then return to Washington.
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