UAE gets more support for IRENA

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister, received further support from countries for Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) during his meetings with counterparts and senior officials from other countries on the sidelines of the United Nations Summit on Climate Change in New York.

Sheikh Abdullah’s meeting with German Deputy Foreign Minister Reinhard Silberberg discussed the two countries’ positions on security in the Gulf and the Middle East as well as the latest developments in Afghanistan.

The two sides also agreed to further strengthen and promote the international status of IRENA and encouraging more nations to ratify the agency’s statute. The meeting also discussed IRENA’s forthcoming preparatory meeting later this month in Abu Dhabi.

At his meeting with South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Yu Myung-hwan, Sheikh Abdullah expressed thanks for the South Korean government’s role in the success of Abu Dhabi’s bid to host IRENA’s headquarters. The meeting also saw discussions of bilateral relations and exchange of views on the agenda of the UN, including regional security in the Gulf and the Korean Peninsula.

The UAE minister’s meeting with Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Anders Fogh Rasmussen discussed a number of security issues such as the situation in Afghanistan and joint efforts to enforce stability and security in the country.

At the meeting, Rasmussen thanked the UAE for playing host to the conference on public diplomacy next October.

Sheikh Abdullah took part in the opening ceremony of the headquarters of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s mission to the UN. He also joined his five counterparts from other GCC countries in a coordination meeting to discuss, among other issue of common concern, their common position on the agenda of the 64th session of the UN General Assembly.

He also joined the ministerial coordination meeting of the foreign ministers of the member countries of the Arab League and yet another meeting with European Union foreign ministers. The GCC side was chaired by Omani Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdallah. Oman holds presidency of the current session of the GCC Ministerial Council while Sweden is the current president of the EU.

“The meeting discussed the special relations between the two blocs, ways to further bolster them, the Palestinian issue, the Middle East peace process as well as the latest developments in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Somalia, the issue of Iran’s nuclear programme and the impact of the global financial crisis,” said GCC Secretary-General Abdul Rehman Al Atiyya in statements after the meeting. – Emirates News Agency, WAM