UAE-UK Taskforce meeting in London

London: Hugh Robertson MP, Minister for the Middle East and South Asia hosted the eleventh meeting of the UAE-U.K. Taskforce at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London on Monday. The UAE delegation was led by Dr Anwar Gargash, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. Ministers highlighted the continued success of the Taskforce in developing closer cooperation between the U.K. and the UAE since its launch in July 2010 by the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, and the UAE President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Current regional and global issues were the main focus of discussions, with Ministers reiterating the importance of working together, especially on complex regional issues, according to a press statement issued by the British Embassy. They welcomed the increased co-operation on international development, especially in Somalia, and in particular the collaboration and strong support for the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict initiative. Both countries have committed to GBP2m of joint funding. Ministers acknowledged the good work being done under the UAE-U.K. Business Council which has helped increase bilateral trade, taking both countries closer to their 2015 target of GBP12 billion. They also welcomed the continuing collaboration on clean energy investment, in particular efforts to increase low carbon investment in developing countries, and the parties agreed to seek out further opportunities. The Taskforce members noted the on-going co-operation on justice and law enforcement, welcoming the efforts on both sides in tackling issues of mutual concern such as financial fraud and asset recovery. Ministers also discussed the next steps in developing closer consular co-operation, including that of crisis management, and recognised the positive work of the UAE-U.K. Consular Committee in providing regular and effective dialogue on consular issues, which is important given the 100,000 British nationals living in the UAE, and even more visitors every year. The Ministers welcomed the recent diplomatic skills exchange between the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office, agreeing to look for further opportunities to co-operate on similar initiatives. – Emirates New Agency, WAM