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29 March 2024

Khalifa, British Premier hold talks

Published
By WAM

President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan yesterday held talks with the British Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street.

The meeting is part of the activities during the state visit of the UAE President to the United Kingdom at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II.

During the meeting, the talks focused on ways to strengthen the cooperation and friendship between the two friendly countries in different fields, especially on the areas of politics, economy and investment.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed a number of political, economic, trade and investment issues, as well as ways to strengthen the relations between the two countries and of opening up new means of co-operation and co-ordination between the two countries.

They also exchanged views on the latest developments in the Middle East and the concerted efforts being exerted by all international parties to restore security and stability in the region.

The UAE President stressed the desire of the UAE to achieve comprehensive peace n the region.

He added that the UAE is one of the countries in the region with a balanced and wise policy, based on strategic objectives, this being followed by others.

Sheikh Khalifa and Cameron also discussed bilateral co-operation in a number of areas, especially relating to the economy and investment, in the light of the expanding economic relations between the two countries, particularly in the sectors of industry, trade, renewable energy, healthcare, education, defence and other areas.

The President said that the UAE is looking forward to the development of the strategic economic relationship with Britain, through joint, sustainable investment projects, that could contribute to a raising of the rate of growth in bilateral trade and investment.

Sheikh Khalifa concluded by expressing his appreciation for the hospitality shown to him during his visit by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Duke of Edinburgh, other members of the royal family, the Government and the British people.

He said that the visit had had a great impact on him and on relations between the two countries and friendly peoples.

A statement issued by the Prime Minister's office after the meeting said that Cameron had described the State Visit as "a mark of the lasting and strategic importance to Britain of our relationship with the UAE."

It added that "the two leaders agreed that the relationship had developed significantly in the last year, especially building a deeper and substantive defence partnership and significant new commercial links.

"They discussed the action that the international community should take on the most pressing issues in the Gulf and wider region, including to address the challenge of Iran's nuclear programme, to end the appalling and dangerous conflict in Syria, and to bring new momentum to the peace process between Israel and Palestine. They agreed on the need for further support to stabilisation and development in Somalia at the London conference next week," it said.

"The two leaders agreed to continue close engagement between the two Governments on important issues in the relationship," it concluded.

The meeting was attended on the UAE side by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and chairman of the Emirates Group, Ahmed Juma Al Za'abi, Deputy Minister of Presidential Affairs and Abdul Rahman Ghanem Al Mutaiwee, UAE Ambassador to the United Kingdom.

On the British side, those attending included Dominic Jermey, British Ambassador to the UAE and a number of senior British officials.
 

Islam is a message of peace, Khalifa tells Charles  


President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan concluded his two-day state visit to the United Kingdom this afternoon with a visit to Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, the heir to the British throne, at his residence, Clarence House.

Prince Charles welcomed Sheikh Khalifa and his accompanying delegation, praising the deep and historic relations between the UAE and Britain. He said that these are supported by the leaderships of both countries.

He added that the President's state visit represented an important stage in the history of the relationship.

During their cordial talks, the two exchanged views on the relationship and on how it could be strengthened.

Prince Charles then showed Sheikh Khalifa special displays of the work of the Prince's School for Traditional Arts and the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.

Sheikh Khalifa told Prince Charles that the United Arab Emirates was desirous of ensuring that the people of the UAE were made aware of the tolerance and moderation to be found in the essential concepts of Islam, far removed from any extremism.

He noted that the message of Islam calls for love and peace and for the avoiding of hatred and enmity.

Sheikh Khalifa and Prince Charles then took tea in the Garden Room of Clarence House, together with the Prince's wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, and the accompanying delegation.

Both Sheikh Khalifa and Prince Charles expressed the view that the President's visit would have a positive impact of the developing relationship between the two countries and peoples.


Khalifa lays wreath in Westminster Abbey

President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan yesterday afternoon laid a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey in central London.

Since the body of an unknown British soldier was first laid there in 1920, having been transferred from a war grave in France, to honor the memory of soldiers who died in the First World War, over 70 foreign heads of state have laid wreaths at the grave as a mark of respect.

The President, who was met on arrival at the Abbey by the Duke of York, was received at the Abbey door by the Very Reverend Dr. John Hall, Dean of Westminster, who presented to him the Canons of Westminster, officials of the Abbey.

The Abbey, close to the Houses of Parliament, is the place of coronation and burial of British monarchs.

The President was then conducted to the Grave of the Unknown Warrior by the Dean, where he laid the wreath.

Sheikh Khalifa was accompanied by two members of the UAE Armed Forces, Second Lieutenant Moza Al Nueimi, the first female Emirati cadet to graduate from Britain's Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, and First Lieutenant Hamad al Amiry, also a Sandhurst graduate and a veteran of the Emirati military mission in Afghanistan.

Following the saying of prayers by the Dean, the President was then escorted on a short tour of the Abbey.

Sheikh Khalifa then signed the Abbey's Distinguished Visitors' Book, saying "We in the United Arab Emirates value the lives of those who have sacrificed themselves for their country. The love of country and to sacrifice for it is the aim of everyone who seeks to protect his country."

UAE Ministers and other members of the delegation also attended the ceremony.

UAE, Britain work closely in Afghanistan


UAE forces have been operating in Afghanistan since 2003, the first and largest Arab military contingent to be engaged there alongside Nato-led Coalition forces. At its peak, the UAE presence in Afghanistan numbered 1,300 soldiers. 600 are still deployed there.

In accordance with the UAE Constitution, they are used only for defensive purposes. They are focussed on protecting humanitarian initiatives - which are regularly threatened by violence and instability in Afghanistan - and providing safety and stability for local communities.

The language skills and cultural awareness of the UAE Armed Forces personnel make them particularly well equipped for these tasks. Despite the ongoing need, recent achievements in ealthcare, education and the provision of basic infrastructure can in part be directly and indirectly attributed to the work of the UAE Armed Forces in the provision of safety, stability and culturally-sensitive community development. At the invitation of the Afghan government, Emirati forces will continue to offer training and support to the Afghan military.

The UAE, over the past ten years, has also been a major civilian donor to Afghanistan, providing well over half-a-billion US dollars in aid and most recently pledging on 24 April 2013 to donate $120 million by 2018 for polio eradication.

Projects funded by the UAE include medical clinics, which have so far treated over 35,000 Afghan patients; the Zayed University which trains medics and engineers in Khost; and also wells, mosques and schools.

In March 2012 the UAE and UK signed a joint agreement to work closely together in supporting infrastructure development and education in Afghanistan. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, the UAE's Minister for Development and International Cooperation met her UK counterpart, Justine Greening, to discuss continued cooperation between the two countries.

The UAE and UK are specifically supporting education for girls, in both Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan. Both worked to help Malala Yousufzai -- shot by the Taliban for seeking education, airlifted from Pakistan by the UAE, and given treatment in Manchester.

In addition to Afghanistan, the UK and UAE have worked together in other peacekeeping operations.

The UAE contributed a dozen fighter jets to the UN-authorised military intervention in Libya in 2011; with the UK contributing 36 aircraft to the Libya operation.

The UAE and UK have also taken an active part in the ongoing fight against piracy off the Horn of Africa; The UAE and the UK are partners in the Friends of Yemen group, which is working to secure development aid and ensure political stability in Yemen; The UK and UAE are also partners in the global fight against extremism - both states co-chair the Countering Violent Extremism unit of the Global Counterterrorism Forum. The UAE this year inaugurated the Hedayah (Guidance) Centre in Abu Dhabi, designed to help states share best practice in dealing effectively with terrorism, its roots and consequences.



UAE, UK sign 2 MoUs

The Governments of the United Arab Emirates and of the United Kingdom have signed two memoranda of understanding on the creation of a Dialogue of Values and Qualification of Frameworks.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister, signed on behalf of the UAE, while the British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, signed on behalf of the United Kingdom.

The two memoranda were signed as part of the State Visit of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the United Kingdom.

The Dialogue of Values will be supervised by the UAE-UK Taskforce, jointly chaired by Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and Alistair Burt, British Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.

The first meeting will be held this month, with follow-up meetings at six-monthly intervals.

The discussions will strengthen cultural and political understanding between the UAE and the UK, as well as exploring the developments in the Middle East and North Africa.

Under the terms of the memorandum on qualifications, the two sides will prepare a list on the quality institutions in both countries to promote understanding and achieve partnership and ensure quality. They will also exchange information about the qualifications endorsed by the higher education institutions in both countries. The two sides will work to set content of the education programmes.

They will inform each other about symposia, training sessions and mutual visits in both countries.

Sheikh Abdulla held talks with Hague in London this morning on ways to strengthen the relations between the two friendly countries, and cooperation ties in the best interest of both.

The meeting also stressed the importance of coordination and consultations to further consolidate relations. The two sides also discussed the political and security situations in the region and the Middle East in the light of political developments in the Arab world.

The UAE Foreign Minister said the UAE President's visit to the UK and the talks held yesterday between Sheikh Khalifa and Queen Elizabeth, as well as two memoranda of understanding, will contribute to the shared desire to strengthen relations.

He expressed his satisfaction at the cooperation and historic friendship between the two countries.

For his part, the British Foreign Secretary praised the relations between the UAE and the UK, citing their cooperation on a number of issues of common interest.



UAE, UK review cooperation on humanitarian issues

UAE and British Ministers met to review opportunities for strengthening co-operation in international development efforts and in humanitarian relief.

The UAE Minister for International Co-operation and Development, Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qassimi, who is a member of the UAE delegation accompanying President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan on his two-day state visit to the United Kingdom, held talks with her British counterpart, Justine Greening, Secretary of State for international Development.

Among topics discussed were the success of existing joint programmes and priorities for the future, including initiatives taken by both sides to help people fleeing the current conflict in Syria.

The UAE has set up and is jointly running the Jordan-Emirates Camp for Syrian refugees, near Zarqa in Jordan. The camp currently accommodates around 1,800 refugees but is expected to see those numbers soar to 25,000 in coming months, many being children who are currently deprived of access to schooling.