Gates held talks with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed forces General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The pair “exchanged views about a number of important matters that jointly concern them regarding fostering security and stability in the region,” the official WAM news agency said, without elaborating.

Gates arrived in the UAE capital from Kuwait, following visits to Saudi Arabia and Egypt where he was accompanied by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was wrapping up her trip on Thursday in the Palestinian territories.

A key part of their tour was to discuss a multi-billion-dollar military aid bonanza for Washington’s allies in the Gulf amid US accusations that Shia Iran is trying to destabilise the region.

The pacts are worth 20 billion dollars for Saudi Arabia, 13 billion dollars for Egypt, 30 billion dollars for Israel and reportedly at least 20 billion dollars for the other Gulf states.