UAE FM, UAE delegation enhance partnerships during UNGA 78

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan expressed the UAE’s eagerness and commitment to supporting all efforts to maintain and enhance relations and bilateral cooperation in meetings with several heads of state participating in UNGA 78.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan met with Hamza Abdi Barre, Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia; Jakov Milatović, President of Montenegro; Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; and Nikos Christodoulides, President of the Republic of Cyprus.

In addition, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed discussed bilateral cooperation and several agenda items at UNGA78 with a number of foreign ministers. His Highness met with Murat Nurtleu, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan; Dr. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran; Tanja Fajon, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovenia; Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary; and José Manuel Albares Bueno, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain.

For his part, Dr. Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Adviser to UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, met with met with Feridun Sinirlioğlu, Special Coordinator, Independent Assessment as Mandated by Security Council Resolution 2679 (2023) on Afghanistan. Separately, Dr. Gargash met with Daniel Benaim, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arabian Peninsula Affairs; and David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee.

Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, met with Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the World Food Programme.

Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, Minister of State, continued to strengthen bilateral ties between the UAE and its African partners in meetings with several foreign ministers and leaders. Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan met with His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Minister also met with His Excellency Rui Alberto de Figueiredo Soares, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cape Verde; His Excellency Lejeune Mbella Mbella, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cameroon; Shegun Adjadi Bakari, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Benin; Abdoulaye Diop, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mali; and Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, Vice President of Equatorial Guinea.

For his part, Ahmed Al Sayegh, Minister of State, participated in the launch of the I2U2 Private Enterprise Partnership, alongside India, Israel, and the United States. At the event, the I2U2 website was unveiled, which will play a pivotal role in achieving the partnership’s ambitions to mobilise private sector capital, modernise infrastructure and promote green technologies.

His Excellency AL Sayegh delivered an intervention at the informal ministerial meeting of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA). He stressed the importance of multilateral action to address regional and global challenges, including the empowerment of women and the prevention of extremism. He also spoke about climate change, which the UAE is addressing as President of COP28 by intensifying international cooperation to make the utmost progress, increase financing for global climate action, and strengthen adaptation and resilience.

Al Sayegh also met with Dr. Rola Dashti, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.

For his part, Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar, Minister of State, participated in the high-level informal interactive dialogue between members of the Arab Summit Troika and the Security Council on the topic “Cooperation between the United Nations and the League of Arab States,” organised by the UAE in partnership with Albania and the League of Arab States (LAS). In a statement during the session, Al Marar emphasized the need to take Arab views into account when dealing with pressing issues, avoid duplication of work and ensure unity of purpose, enhance joint coordination between the Security Council and regional organizations such as the LAS and the African Union, and make cooperation between the UN and the LAS more systematic and institutionalized.

Al Marar also participated in the high-level ministerial meeting held by the Liaison Committee concerned with the situation in the Palestinian Territory, which was chaired by the Kingdom of Norway. In his intervention, Al Marar referred to the challenges and difficult conditions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as a result of the Israeli authorities’ continued illegal practices, unilateral measures, and deteriorating economic conditions, which confirms the need to explore ways to enhance international cooperation and coordination to provide basic services in Palestine. He supported the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee’s efforts in that regard and enumerated the UAE’s efforts to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people, including providing aid amounting to more than $750 million from 2018 to 2023.

Al Marar, together with Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh, Permanent Representative of the UAE to the UN, also met with Tor Wennesland, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.