The area now comprising the UAE has produced archaeological evidence of settled trading communities as for back as 5,000 BC , with important Late Stone Age sites being found both in the hinterland and along the coast and on offshore islands . It has long been a center on the trade routes between east and west , with the East Coast port of Dibba trading with China at least 2,000 years age , while the Islamic port of Julfar , in Ras Al Khaimah , was a central point for trade with the Orient between the 14th and 17th centuries AD .
 

Between the 16th and 18th centuries , like other countries in the region , the UAE felt the impact of the early European colonial powers , Portugal and Holland , but by the late 18th century the British appeared on the scene as they established their control over India . At the beginning of the 19th century , the Qassimi state in the northern emirates , able to put nearly 20,000 sailors to sea , clashed with the british , leading to a permanent British presence . Between 1820 and 1971 the area now comprising the UAE , then known as the Trucial States , was in special treaty relations with Britain . In 1971 , the federation was created , with the Ruler of Abu Dhabi , His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan , being elected President , a post he continues to hold today .
 

The country's Parliament is known as the Federal National Council , and has 40 members chosen from each of the UAE's constituent emirates .

Also of significance in determining the foreign policy of the UAE is its membership of the Arab League and the Islamic Conference Organisation , while the country works closely with the United Nations and its affiliate bodies.

The UAE is also a major donor of international aid through the Abu Dhabi Fund for development, with over 40 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle of East having received concessionary loans to assist them in the building of their social and economic infrastructure.

With the experience of two major conflicts in the Arabian Gulf region over the course of the last 15 years, the United Arab Emirates bases its defence policy upon its membership of the AGCC, while it also maintains close and friendly relations with other states concerned with the maintenance of security and stability of the Arabian Gulf . Defence  agreements have recently been signed with the United States and France.

The UAE adopts a procurement policy determined by the requirements of its own armed forces, and with widely diversified sources of supply.