EU Parliament-UAE in strategic partnership dialogue

Sheikha Lubna Al Qassimi, UAE Minister for Development and International Cooperation, has called for expansion of ties and cooperation between the 28-member European Union and the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and for closer strategic partnership between the EU and the United Arab Emirates. "There is scope for further promotion of EU-GCC partnership similar to EU-Mediterranean partnership. We can establish a similar GCC-focused partnership with the EU," she told a dialogue between the European Parliament and the United Arab Emirates in Brussels, Wednesday evening. "This would be a support from the EU," she argued in order to seek a just settlement through bilateral negotiations or referral to international arbitration on issues like the occupation of three UAE islands by Iran. Al Qassimi also noted that the value of EU support in resolving the Palestine issue cannot be overstated. "The strategic importance of relations between the EU and the UAE cannot be doubted and is reflected in our common values and shared perspective," she stressed. The EU and the UAE share the strategic interest in the maintenance and promotion of stability, peace, and prosperity, said the UAE minister, and added that the shared strategic points between the two sides cover security threats including terrorism, extremism, and nuclear proliferation. "While exports of oil and gas from the UAE to the EU countries have long represented a shared interest for our two sides, our bilateral ties extend far beyond these commodities. The EU market is the largest beneficiary of regular financial flows from the UAE in form of foreign direct investments, bank deposits, and capital shares in major European share markets," said Al Qassimi. She also noted that one indication of closer EU-UAE partnership is the opening of an EU embassy in Abu Dhabi later this year. The EU-UAE dialogue was hosted by Portuguese MEP Mario David, chair of the European Parliament-UAE Friendship Group with the support of the UAE Embassy in Brussels. "It's a real privilege for the Friendship Group to have this first dialogue and have the opportunity to exchange ideas," said David. On her part Dr. Amal Al Qubaisi, first deputy speaker of UAE Federal National Council, proposed the preparation of a parliamentary strategic concept for the development of parliamentary relations between the UAE and the European Parliament. She called for the creation of a joint working group to promote better understanding on global issues and current affairs and enhance people-to-people relations. Meanwhile, Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, vice president of UAE University, spoke about the advances and progress made by the UAE in the field of education in the last four decades. UAE ambassador to the EU, Sulaiman Al Mazroui, told the gathering that the European Parliament's Committee on civil liberties and home affairs is expected tomorrow, Thursday, to vote to recommend the lifting of visa requirements for UAE citizens to travel to the EU. The UAE will be the first Arab country to enjoy this visa privilege, he added. Jacek Protasiewciz, vice president of the European Parliament, said that EU-UAE trade exchange last year reached 25 billion euros and has been stable for years. The prospect of economic cooperation with the UAE is better now, since Europe is reaching the end of the economic crisis, he added.