The UAE remains the Arab world's most enduring and stable experiment in unity and the only working federation in the Middle East. Under HH President Sheikh Khalifah binZayed Al Nahyan, each of the seven emirates has retained its individual character. The oil emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi have developed along distinctly different lines thanks to the right of individual states to continue to regulate local affairs independently.

The Supreme Council is the highest body in the country. This council comprises the seven rulers. It sanctions all laws and decrees, appoints the judges of the Supreme Court and elects the President and the Vice-President. The President of the Federation in HH Khalifah binZayed Al Nahyan and the Vice-President HH Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum.