President Al Nahyan's state visit follows one made by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to the UAE in 2010 and a visit there by Mr Cameron in November.

BBC: The Queen, Prince Phillip and Sheikh Khalifa Al-Nahyan

In public remarks last week, UAE Ambassador to the US Youssef al-Otaiba made a series of statements whose bluntness was unprecedented.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: A war on whose terms?

One expert in the UAE has estimated that 70% of the high-rise buildings there have panel facade cladding made of a combustible thermoplastic core held between two sheets of aluminium.

BBC: 'Towering inferno' fears for Gulf's high-rise blocks