EU and Emirates advance their Cooperation Agreement with a second meeting of senior officials
The second meeting of senior officials in the framework of the Cooperation Agreement between the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was held virtually on 3 March 2021. The Cooperation Agreement aims to provide a framework for expanding bilateral relations through intensified political dialogue and enhanced cooperation on key strategic issues of mutual interest. The meeting continued the implementation of the Cooperation Agreement between the EEAS and MoFAIC signed on 31 January 2018 in Brussels. Mohammed al-Shehhi, MoFAIC's Director of European Affairs, and EEAS Deputy Director General for the Middle East and North Africa, Carl Hallergard co-chaired the table.
Both sides welcomed progress in the implementation of the agreement which helped boost cooperation in several areas, including economics, agriculture, trade, advanced sciences, renewable energy and climate transition, security and counter-terrorism, and development cooperation and humanitarian aid. The UAE and the EU also underlined the importance of joint efforts to combat COVID-19. Both committed to continue exchanging best practices in response to the pandemic. In addition, they noted the importance of Expo 2020 in Dubai in further strengthening EU-UAE relations. The European Union will participate in the events and activities of Expo 2020 Dubai in collaboration with its Member States, the Expo organisers and other partners. This Expo will be the first in the Middle East and North Africa and South Asia region.
During the meeting, they jointly discussed ways to further facilitate trade and investment cooperation. In particular, dialogue took place regarding the two sides' efforts to remove impediments to trade, to expand investment ties and to work collaboratively in cutting-edge sectors, including, among others, renewable energy, food security, space sciences, digitalisation, artificial intelligence and blockchain.
The first meeting of senior officials held in Brussels on 26 July 2019 focused on bilateral relations and regional issues of common interest. One of the main points was the situation in the Gulf and the need to strengthen efforts to ease tensions and avoid escalation. Discussions also focused on Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, the Sahel and the Middle East peace process. Both sides underlined their commitment to continued cooperation to promote peace, stability and sustainable solutions to existing conflicts.
This second meeting provided an opportunity to review cooperation to date and jointly identify new opportunities in the areas of security and counter-terrorism, including in the context of the UAE CBRN Centre and the Hedayah Centre. Both sides agreed to explore new opportunities to exchange best practices and expertise in security-related activities (in particular preventing and countering violent extremism), to continue their structured dialogue on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism, and to deepen cooperation in the field of asset recovery.
The two sides discussed ways to enhance political dialogue and to explore cooperation in the areas of development cooperation and humanitarian aid, in particular in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa. They also looked forward to the forthcoming fifth Brussels Conference on "Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region".
Views were also exchanged on how to deepen cooperation to promote the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement and the empowerment and protection of women. Both sides also stressed the importance of developing cooperation between the EU and the UAE on migration in line with the principle of shared responsibility. Within the overall objective of deepening cooperation on people-to-people contacts, the EU presented opportunities for the participation of Emirati students, researchers and innovators in EU programmes, including Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe. In conclusion, it was agreed that the next senior officials' meeting between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and the EEAS would be held in 2022, at a venue to be determined, according to information from the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.