--- description: Find out why Yousef Al Otaiba is one of the 100 most influential people of 2020. title: Yousef Al Otaiba: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt065bec8840fe313c/698a1254b3fce3ff950c7263/time-100-Yousef-Al-Otaiba.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 22, 2020 # Yousef Al Otaiba by Vivienne Walt  Emirati Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef al-Otaiba gestures during an event with U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, at the Emirates Diplomatic Academy, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018\. Ryan said Thursday that more needs to be done to challenge Iran, a message that was welcomed by his hosts in the UAE, where he is leading a Congressional delegation. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell) Emirati Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef al-Otaiba gestures during an event with U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, at the Emirates Diplomatic Academy, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018\. Ryan said Thursday that more needs to be done to challenge Iran, a message that was welcomed by his hosts in the UAE, where he is leading a Congressional delegation. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)Jon Gambrell—AP Despite the [United Arab Emirates](https://time.com/tag/uae/ "undefined")’ minuscule size, its longtime ambassador wields major clout in Washington. [Yousef Al Otaiba](https://www.uae-embassy.org/services-resources/uae-embassy-consulates/ambassador-yousef-al-otaiba "undefined") has spent years cultivating key players over lavish dinners and major charity donations—piddling gestures for the super-rich Gulf state, but tradable currency in the U.S. capital. All the schmoozing has paid off. Since 2016, Al Otaiba has helped the Emirates’ ally, Saudi Crown Prince [Mohammed bin Salman](https://time.com/longform/mohammed-bin-salman/ "undefined"), build close ties with the Trump Administration, despite the [Saudis’ abysmal human-rights record](https://time.com/5567330/saudi-arabia-women-rights-drive/ "undefined"). He has successfully urged U.S. support for the Gulf allies’ war in Yemen, which has left over 100,000 dead and triggered a famine that will kill thousands more. He counts among his friends [Jared Kushner](https://time.com/5766186/jared-kushner-interview/ "undefined"), Trump’s son-in-law and top adviser. Now Al Otaiba is the public face of a reshaped Middle East. He played a key role in the UAE’s formal recognition of Israel in August, by laying out a deal for Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu](https://time.com/longform/benjamin-netanyahu-interview/ "undefined") in an Israeli newspaper: abandon plans to annex Palestinian land, in exchange for diplomatic ties. It was an irresistible offer—just the kind that Al Otaiba, after years of splurging on powerful friends, was in prime position to make. _Walt is a TIME correspondent_ Yousef Al Otaiba Is on the 2020 TIME 100 List ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888299/yousef-al-otaiba/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888299/yousef-al-otaiba/"},"headline":"Yousef Al Otaiba","datePublished":"2020-09-22T19:08:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:22:19.394Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888299/yousef-al-otaiba/","keywords":["TIME 100","T100 2020","T100 2020 Leaders"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt065bec8840fe313c/698a1254b3fce3ff950c7263/time-100-Yousef-Al-Otaiba.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt065bec8840fe313c/698a1254b3fce3ff950c7263/time-100-Yousef-Al-Otaiba.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888299/yousef-al-otaiba/","name":"Yousef Al Otaiba"}}]}] ```