UAE and UK: A comprehensive roadmap for partnership for the future
A comprehensive and detailed roadmap agreed by the UAE and the UK to launch a “partnership for the future” between the two countries.
The joint statement issued by the two countries on the occasion of the visit of Sheikh Mohammed ben Zayed Al Nahyane, Crown Prince of Abou Dabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to Britain on Thursday, and his holding of talks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Many features
The partnership, which was launched after careful and thorough study to ensure its success in achieving its goals, began after the visit of Sheikh Mohammed ben Zayed Al Nahyane to London last December, when the two countries agreed at the time “to meet again to further develop the British-Emirati partnership for the future,” which has already been launched, on Thursday. This clearly shows that the partnership between the two countries is moving steadily, forcefully and at an advanced pace.
One of the advantages of this comprehensive and integrated partnership is that it covers all political, security, humanitarian, defense, energy, artificial intelligence, space, health and climate change, and is complementary to each other to achieve its objectives.
Pillars and targets
This partnership has two main pillars: creating sustainable prosperity and addressing global issues.
The objectives of the general partnership are to “promote prosperity, well-being, and security, address climate change, and expand the exchange of knowledge, skills, and ideas,” all of which are in the interest of “broadening and deepening bilateral relations,” and to support security and stability in the region and the world.
The mechanisms for implementing those goals, following up on their achievement and removing any challenges they face will be implemented through the launch of an annual strategic dialog between the two countries and the formation of joint committees to stimulate bilateral discussions to achieve economic prosperity for the peoples of the two countries.
The two countries also signed cooperation agreements to promote trade, investment and innovation, and to deepen cooperation in areas including life sciences, energy innovation, regional issues, illicit finance, education, security, development, culture, climate, health and food security.
Strategic dialog
Sheikh Abdallah ben Zayed al-Nahyane, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and the British Minister of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development will co-chair the annual strategic dialog.
The functions of this dialog are numerous, notably the review of issues of common concern at several levels.
In the political arena, this dialog will contribute to “deepening the strategic partnership between the two countries in foreign policy and regional security and defense issues.”
In this regard, the dialog aims to coordinate positions between the two countries and to work closely and jointly, especially during the UAE’s term as a member of the Security Council for 2022-2023, especially since the United Kingdom is a permanent member of the Security Council, and cooperation between the two countries will be in the interest of supporting the security and stability of the region and the world.
In this regard, the British Prime Minister stressed “the commitment of both countries to work together in the Security Council to strengthen international peace and security and to address international security threats.”
At the bilateral level, the strategic dialog will promote cooperation in the fields of education, culture, climate change, multilateral cooperation and security issues.
A compatible foreign policy
The joint statement issued by the two countries revealed the size of the agreement and the consensus between the two countries in this regard.
On regional issues, the two countries agreed to continue their close cooperation, including in the areas of security, development and humanitarian affairs.
They stressed the importance of the United Arab Emirates-Israel Peace Agreement (the Abraham Agreement) in contributing to the strengthening of regional peace and security, and reaffirmed their commitment to a two-State solution through negotiation to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions.
With regard to the Afghan crisis, the two sides expressed their concern over the developments in the Afghan situation and reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining regional stability and preventing the resurgence of terrorism.
They also stressed the need to protect the rights of Afghan women and girls and the importance of preserving their rights… Both sides committed to working together to prevent a humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan and support refugees.
Johnson had expressed his thanks and appreciation for the support provided by the UAE in evacuating British nationals from Afghanistan, as well as the evacuation of nationals from many countries.
The two sides also agreed to expand development and humanitarian cooperation through the establishment of a framework for development cooperation. Includes climate change, education, women’s empowerment and development in the Horn of Africa.
The two countries also agreed on an ambitious plan of cooperation in areas of common interest, including the Horn of Africa. to promote shared priorities for security and stability, and to achieve sustainable development goals.
Both sides emphasized the need to respect human rights in all initiatives.
On another issue, the two countries agreed to increase cooperation to ensure the safety and security of maritime trade and energy supplies.
A wide spectrum of observers believe that the most important characteristic of the New Partnership agreed upon is that it is based on foundations, pillars and has specific objectives.
The New Partnership for the Future is based on the strengthening of the historical relations between the two countries, which will form the basis of this partnership.
One of the most important pillars for establishing the international partnership and ensuring its continuity and success is the existence of an agreement and consensus among foreign policy partners, which is achieved in the partnership between the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom, at various levels.
Countries have also launched a partnership to combat illicit financial flows. They agreed that international partners should work together to address money-laundering operations, and the first partnership meeting between the two countries will be held in London today, Friday, to address the issue of illicit financial flows, during which the partnership framework to address illicit financial flows will be signed.
Signature of 9 agreements
The second mechanism to push forward this partnership is the signing of agreements and memoranda of understanding to enhance cooperation between the two countries in the fields of partnership.
During the visit of Sheikh Mohammed ben Zayed Al Nahyane to Britain on Thursday, nine agreements and memorandums of understanding were signed, the most important of which is the Long-term Sovereign Investment Partnership Agreement, which will contribute to advancing investment relations between the two countries. These agreements are:
- A partnership agreement between Mubadala Investment Company and the UK Department of International Trade for sovereign investment between the UAE and the UK.
Under the agreement, the UAE will invest £10 billion in the Sovereign Investment Partnership between the two countries, which is supervised by the UK Investment Office and the Mubadala Investment Company.
Over a five-year period, the Sovereign Investment Partnership will invest in several key innovation sectors involving technology, infrastructure, health care, life sciences and clean and renewable energy.
- A strategic framework agreement between ADNOC and BP on the joint development, storage and use of carbon capture centers.
- Strategic Framework Agreement between ADNOC, Masdar and BP.
- Strategic Framework Agreement between Masdar and BP for the Development, Construction and Operation of Energy and Urban Mobility Services.
- A cooperation agreement between Company Mubadala and City Viper.
- Partnership agreement to address illicit financial flows between the Governments of the United Arab Emirates and Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- Memorandum of cooperation between the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology and the British Ministry of Business and Energy and Industrial Strategy on cooperation in the fields of industry and advanced technology.
- Memorandum of Understanding in the field of artificial intelligence between the Office of Social Intelligence in the Prime Minister’s Office of the United Arab Emirates and the Department of International Trade of the United Kingdom.
- Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of “Addressing Climate Change” between the Office of the Special Envoy of the United Arab Emirates for Climate Change and the Office of the President of the Twenty-Sixth Conference of the Parties (COP 26).
In view of those conventions, all of them are in the interest of achieving the objectives of that partnership, which are to create sustainable prosperity, promote prosperity, well-being and security, address the issue of climate change and expand the exchange of knowledge, skills and ideas. Some of them are even complementary to others to achieve the same goal.
The Sovereign Investment Agreement will strengthen the capacity for job creation in both countries, promote research and capacity development and create new areas of investment cooperation, which will contribute to prosperity and prosperity.
The three energy agreements that have been concluded aim to strengthen the relationships in the area of energy transmission and decarbonization, with a particular focus on renewable energy sources and new forms of energy, which will be in the interest of addressing climate change.
The same objectives are reinforced by the Sovereign Investment Partnership, and the Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Notes, which focus on important areas, including life sciences, hydrogen, space, emerging renewable energy technologies and sustainable green and smart industrialization, which will be implemented through partnership between government, companies and academia.
The signing of a memorandum of understanding on climate change cooperation and environmental cooperation will enhance cooperation in climate action, nature-based solutions and the enforcement of the Paris Convention.
As part of its efforts to reduce the effects of climate change, the UAE is seeking to host the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), to be held in 2023, while the UK will host the COP26 summit in November in Glasgow.
Deepening cooperation
An important mechanism for the implementation of that partnership is the formation of joint committees and agreement on areas of cooperation.
In this regard, the two countries agreed to form a joint committee for the space sector to stimulate bilateral discussions to achieve economic prosperity for the peoples of the two countries.
The two countries also agreed to strengthen their “strategic defense relationship,” particularly in the area of capacity development and defense industrial cooperation. They also welcomed the continued strong relations between the UAE and British armed forces.
In this regard, the United Kingdom looked forward to further cooperation with the United Arab Emirates Presidential Guard and between the two countries’ air forces through the participation of the United Kingdom in the Advanced Tactical Command Course, the involvement of British aircraft from the StrikeCarrier Group, as well as increased ground military exercises in the Emirates.
The field of culture and education was also covered by bilateral cooperation between the two countries, where the two sides agreed to increase cooperation in the fields of cultural heritage protection, development of creative and cultural industries, and exchange of best practices and experiences.
The British Prime Minister also expressed his hope for an active British participation in Expo 2020, which will contribute positively to supporting dialog, innovation, and international peace and prosperity.
Coronavirus control
The New Partnership for the Future between the UAE and the UK has not overlooked the biggest challenge facing the world in the current period, the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The two sides stressed that global cooperation and solidarity constitute the cornerstone in the fight against the pandemic and the achievement of sustainable and comprehensive recovery.
The two sides agreed on the importance of supporting efforts to increase the international supply of vaccines and recognizing the vaccines adopted in both countries in order to strengthen cultural, commercial and investment ties.
The UAE embodied the concept of humanitarian fraternity in its global support to confront the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, providing and still providing support and assistance to many countries to overcome the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, sending about 2,250 tons of medical aid to 136 countries.
