The UAE has numerous interests with the US government, including arms acquisition, and more than a dozen companies have actively registered with DOJ to represent government clients.
Otaiba said his favorite event to host is an interfaith Iftar dinner during Ramadan with Christians, Jews, Sikhs, Buddhists and others. Former Trump Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, former Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver have all participated the event, which started before the pandemic.
The late-March dinner drew a lineup of prominent Jewish movers and shakers: Representative Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), Biden envoy for anti-Semitism Deborah Lipstadt, Israeli ambassador Michael Herzog, and Republican wordsmith Frank Luntz. The menu included salmon, saffron chicken, eggplant and beef kibbeh labanieh, and guests received a box of dates from the UAE as a celebratory gift.
“After that, everyone leaves with a good feeling,” said Otaiba. “It’s about tolerance, it’s about inclusion, all the values that we represent and stand for in the Emirates.”
However, iftar dinners are relatively mundane compared to many embassy shindigs. The residence of the French ambassador has held an Amethyste event in recent years, a tribute to the purple stone. Washington top executives in attendance last year included Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (DR.I.), senior White House officials Shalanda Young and Mitch Landrieu, and Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
The goal is to bring Democrats and Republicans together, said a French official in Washington who was given anonymity to discuss the thinking behind the event. But it hasn’t hid its connections to K Street influences either. Heather Podesta, a megalobbyist who lobbied for companies like Toyota and SpaceX that quarter, co-hosted Améthyste in December.
“Anytime you put Republicans, Democrats, the media, corporations, nonprofits, the entertainment industry and the diplomatic corps in the same room, good things will happen,” Podesta said in a statement. “In a city all too often divided by parties, we all need opportunities to get to know each other better.”
Corporate sponsors of the event included South Korean conglomerate SK Group and French investment firm Ardian, which is seeking investment in the US, said Steve Clemons, another co-host of the event whose day job includes writing a newsletter. is for the media startup Semafor. . Clemons, a familiar face to those active at the intersection of journalism and the embassy party circuit, became a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor in 2021.
In a statement, Ardian did not comment on his involvement with the party. Also on display at the party were Chevron brand coasters for the power company, another sponsor. SK Group has not commented. Chevron spokesman Bill Turenne said in a statement, “Like other brands and news organizations, Chevron is proud to support events in Washington, like Amethyste, that bring Republicans and Democrats together for the benefit of key charitable partners.”
While residents of the embassy’s party circuit say corporate sponsorships are several years old, they’ve at least become more noticeable lately. As part of the White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual dinner festivities, Swiss commodities company Mercuria is sponsoring Time Magazine’s Saturday night afterparty at the residence of the Swiss Ambassador.
A Mercuria representative said in an email: “Mercuria is a Swiss company, so the company often sponsors events at the Swiss embassy. We also sponsor the Soiree Suisse at the Swiss Embassy every year with other Swiss companies.” Spokesmen for the Swiss embassy and Time declined to comment or did not respond.
A Republican lobbyist said a company doing business with a foreign government or abroad could sponsor an event as a means of building relationships. For example, a defense contractor could use the location to chat with a diplomat from a country to whom he hopes to sell military equipment, the lobbyist said.
Alternatively, part of a government’s mission in the US is often to court companies to show that the country is “open for business” and encourage investment, the person noted.
Asked why more companies are sponsoring events at embassies, Gérard Araud, who served as France’s ambassador to Washington from 2014 to 2019, said: “I think it’s money. I think it’s really the State Departments all fighting under budget constraints. He said that when he was ambassador, he had to get approval from the Foreign Office in Paris for any proposed sponsorship of an embassy event.
POLITICO has worked with embassies in the past, including hosting an event earlier this month at the home of the European Union ambassador. Thursday’s event took place at the home of Ambassador Karen Pierce.
“POLITICO is proud to convene high-level gatherings of influential people and that is why we are so excited to partner with the British Embassy this April to showcase our reporting teams from both here and London to a fantastic audience,” said Brad Dayspring, executive vice president of global communications and brand at POLITICO. “More conversations are needed in Washington, not less. That’s why our reporters and editors regularly attend events like this and prioritize hosting and connecting people.”
One of the quirkiest draws on the embassy party circuit is the Finnish Embassy’s long-running sauna series, which brings together journalists and Hill staffers for a long night of sauna time, conversation, and Scandinavian food. The ambassador has his own sauna which he uses to have one-on-one with top officials and journalists.
