Scottish Government ‘rolling out red carpet’ for UAE despite Sudan war allegations and human rights record

Kate Forbes tried to attract UAE government investors to Scotland by offering them “rapid access” to policymakers and “bespoke” tours, despite allegations the Gulf state has armed a militia accused of genocide in Sudan.

Minutes released under freedom of information laws show Forbes and other Scottish officials made the offer during a visit to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in January this year for the second ‘UAE Scotland week’ – a programme of events aimed at forging closer economic ties with the Emirates.

The trip took place despite warnings from human rights groups that it was “utterly immoral” to be seeking closer ties with the UAE while it is accused of playing a role in Sudan’s civil war, which has killed more than 150,000 people and displaced around 12 million since it erupted three years ago this week. 

The UAE is widely viewed as the main backer of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary force accused of war crimes including mass killings and the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. The UAE strongly denies backing the RSF.

The country has also long faced criticism for its treatment of migrant workers, women and LGBT people as well as for repression of government critics.

Despite this, the documents show Forbes described the Emirates as a “vital supporter and partner of Scotland” at a reception for the two countries’ food industries – which was held at an upmarket Dubai cocktail bar and featured “artisan” Scottish salmon canapes. 

The minutes suggest that the deputy first minister did not raise the UAE’s human rights record or role in the Sudan war at any point during the trip. Instead, the Emiratis quizzed Forbes on “future political stability” in Scotland if the country were to become independent.

Critics including Amnesty International said it was “farcical” that the UAE was not challenged on its “notorious” record and questioned how the visit squared with the Scottish Government’s claim it would apply “unapologetically” high human rights standards when choosing trade partners.

The former co-leader of the Scottish Greens, Patrick Harvie, questioned whether “ordinary communities, small businesses and trade unions are being given anything like the level of access and influence offered to wealthy investors from the UAE”.

The Scottish Government told The Ferret it had supported humanitarian efforts in Sudan and neighbouring countries with £1.25m since 2023 and reiterated that the UAE was a “key trade and investment partner” for both Scotland and the UK.

The UAE is accused of arming a genocidal militia in Sudan. The Scottish Government wants closer ties

The Scottish Government’s “courting” of the Gulf state comes as human rights groups raise allegations about its role in Sudan’s devastating war.

The FerretPaul Dobson

‘Scotland’s offer to investors’

Forbes’ visit to the oil-rich state between 27 and 30 January was her second in just nine months, following a trip in April 2025 for the first ‘Scotland week’ events.

She took part in 14 meetings during this year’s visit, travelling between Dubai and Abu Dhabi to meet ministers, investors and state-backed companies.

The engagements focused on increasing links in areas such as clean energy, satellite technology, food and higher education. You can read full minutes released to The Ferret here.

At a ‘capital investment dinner’ in Abu Dhabi on the second night of the trip, Forbes and other Scottish officials met major UAE investors including wealthy family offices, state-backed energy companies and sovereign wealth funds.

At the dinner, the Scottish delegation set out its “offer to investors”, which included “rapid access to senior decisionmakers" and “more streamlined processes”, including the planning system, compared with the UK Government. 

Forbes committed to giving “bespoke 72-hour programmes for any investors visiting Scotland” and an action from the meeting was for the Scottish Government along with business agencies Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International to develop a “process” for these.

At the same meeting prospective investors asked Forbes about “future political stability” in Scotland, including “currency scenarios in any future constitutional change”. Her reply to that question was not recorded. 

This approach by the SNP risks creating a two-tier system where those with the deepest pockets are able to shape decisions behind closed doors, while everyone else is left on the outside. — Patrick Harvie, Scottish Greens

During the final event of the trip, Forbes signed a memorandum of understanding with the UAE’s undersecretary for investment. A press release said the deal would give Scottish businesses “direct access” to investment opportunities in the UAE.

Patrick Harvie, who now serves as the Scottish Greens external affairs spokesperson, said the commitment to “quick and easy access” raised “serious concerns”.

“The Scottish Government needs to ensure that any dealings with the UAE are not aiding, legitimising or endorsing its leadership while ignoring its [human rights] record,” Harvie argued. 

“This approach by the SNP risks creating a two-tier system where those with the deepest pockets are able to shape decisions behind closed doors, while everyone else is left on the outside.”

James Mitchell, a professor of public policy at the University of Edinburgh, called for “greater clarity” on what was meant by “rapid access” to policymakers and “more streamlined processes” and whether this meant it was “giving preference” to Emirati investors.

“There is a need to attract inward investment but this must be done properly,” Mitchell argued, to avoid a “race to the bottom”.

He added: “It would be interesting to know how the deputy first minister responded to the point about Scotland’s future political stability. As the SNP has been reluctant to tell the Scottish public of plans in this respect it would be remiss, to put it very mildly, if SNP ministers were informing others.”

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The FerretPaul Dobson

‘Credible’ evidence

Sudan’s civil war is being fought between the RSF and the military-led government. While both sides are accused of committing atrocities, the RSF is seen to have engaged in particularly extreme brutality. This has often targeted the country’s non-Arab communities.

In particular, bloodshed after it captured the city of El-Fasher in the Darfur region drew global attention with the UN receiving accounts of “mass killings, rape, attacks against humanitarian workers and looting”. Streets turned red with blood could be seen from space after the city was overrun.

At the end of last month Doctors Without Borders released a report which said that sexual violence was being used as a “means of humiliation and terror” by the RSF and that the war was being fought on “the backs of women and girls”.

In January 2025, just before it left office, the Biden administration in the US concluded that the RSF had committed genocide. That same month, two Democratic members of Congress said that the UAE was arming the RSF after receiving a briefing from the administration. The UN has also described the claim as “credible”.

Human Rights Watch has said countries doing trade deals with the UAE were prioritising financial interests over human rights and “contributing to ongoing abuses against migrant workers”, including “situations that may amount to forced labour”.

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal in the UAE, and, while some laws on domestic violence have been introduced, men are still able to “discipline” wives and female relatives.

Neil Cowan, Amnesty’s programme director in Scotland, said the approach from the Scottish Government to the UAE was a “far cry from the ‘unapologetically high standards’ it promised it would set when choosing trade and investment partners”. 

“The UAE’s rights record is notorious, yet the deputy first minister appears to have traveled there to unquestioningly roll out the red carpet to its investors,” Cowan claimed. 

“The Scottish Government wants to be seen as a principled global actor but the truth is too often it too often seems to balk at the task of speaking up for human rights.”

The Ferret’s revelations show no consideration by the Scottish Government of the UAE’s shameful role in Sudan. — Emma Cockburn, Campaign Against the Arms Trade

Emma Cockburn, the Scotland coordinator at the Campaign Against the Arms Trade argued Scottish ministers should be treating the UAE as a “pariah”. 

Cockburn said: “The Ferret’s revelations show no consideration by the Scottish Government of the UAE’s shameful role in Sudan, and escalating repression at home.

“Instead, and farcically, it was officials of that dictatorship questioning ‘political stability’ in Scotland.

“This from a country that has thrown 70 Brits in jail in recent weeks, simply for taking and sharing photos and videos of damage caused by Iranian strikes.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “As previously stated [when The Ferret first reported on the trip in January], the deputy first minister’s trade and investment visit to the UAE was about supporting Scottish businesses to grow and trade internationally, while attracting investment to create jobs and prosperity at home. 

“The UAE is a key trade and investment partner for Scotland and the UK.

“The Scottish Government has supported efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in Sudan. This includes contributing £1.25m to communities in Sudan and neighbouring countries since 2023.”

The UAE has been asked to comment.