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UAE joins Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, first Arab country to do so

The UAE has joined the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) as an associate member, the first Arab country to do so. Officials say it will link Emirati polar researchers to international networks and fellowships.

2 outlets · 0L · 2C · 0R First reported Account updated
Image: The National
Image: Gulf News

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The story, neutrally told

Centre · 2The United Arab Emirates has joined the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), becoming the first Arab country to do so. Centre · 1Gulf News reports that the UAE joined as an associate member, and that membership was officially approved in August 2026 at the SCAR Delegates Meetings, held after the 12th SCAR Open Science Conference in Oslo, Norway. Centre · 1Gulf News says the application was prepared by the Emirates Polar Programme and submitted through the Advanced Technology Research Council, which is the UAE's member body of the International Science Council.

Centre · 2The UAE's involvement will be delivered through the Emirates Polar Programme and the Polar Research Centre at Khalifa University, where researchers work with established polar programmes on environmental monitoring and field research in Antarctica. Centre · 1The Emirates Polar Programme was launched by President Sheikh Mohamed in 2023, and The National recalls that last December the UAE was reported as the first Arab nation to commit to conducting scientific research under the Antarctic Treaty System. Centre · 2Membership lets UAE researchers take part in SCAR's international research and expert groups covering ice-sheet dynamics, Southern Ocean change, permafrost and geological history, and opens SCAR fellowships, research placements and exchanges to early-career Emirati scientists.

Centre · 2Mariam Almheiri, head of the International Affairs Office at the Presidential Court and chair of the Emirates Polar Programme Steering Committee, called the membership an important milestone for national capabilities in polar science. Centre · 2SCAR president Gary Wilson said the committee looks forward to including Emirati researchers across its research programme, and Khalifa University's Dr Aisha Al Suwaidi said the UAE hopes to contribute to shared scientific priorities and to bring artists and storytellers alongside scientists.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left0 outlets

No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Centre2 outlets

Framing
Both outlets present the membership as a national milestone, leading with the 'first Arab' distinction and relying largely on statements from UAE and SCAR officials.
Emphasis
The National adds Antarctica background and the Emirates Polar Programme's history; Gulf News adds procedural detail (associate status, August approval in Oslo, application route).
Leaves out or plays down
Neither outlet includes independent or critical comment, or says what the UAE will fund or contribute. The National does not mention associate membership or when approval was given.
Charged language
“important milestone”
For example
“becoming the first Arab country to do so” — The National
“as an associate member, becoming the first Arab state to join the international body” — Gulf News

Right0 outlets

No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.