Abu Dhabi: Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said the threat of the spread of nuclear weapons is one of the key global challenges.
"The UAE has joined other Arab countries in calling for the Middle East to be a weapons free zone, and strongly supported principles of non-proliferation," he told the conference on Prospects of Cooperation between the Arab World and the Pacific Islands.
Shaikh Abdullah said the UAE pursued a peaceful, civilian nuclear energy programme — foregoing domestic enrichment and reprocessing of nuclear fuel — which has been described worldwide as a gold standard for countries interested in exploring nuclear energy for civilian purposes, and also spares the region the danger of a destructive nuclear arms race.
Amr Mousa, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, along with foreign ministers of 21 Arab and 14 Pacific countries in addition to Australia and New Zealand as observers participated in the first meeting between the two blocs.
Shaikh Abdullah said one of the most pressing problems in the Arab world today is the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
‘The UAE has long espoused a peaceful resolution of this conflict, one that is in line with the Arab Peace initiative that holds a two-state solution — involving a sovereign Palestine and a secure Israel living side by side, with viable borders and economics — is the only way to restore security, peace and stability to the region.
"With the world's largest proportion of young people found in the Arab world, the UAE has been hugely focused on projects that help young people become valued and productive members of society, and we have invested heavily in what we believe to be the most fundamental resource of any successful society — education.
"But we understand that combating global poverty and underdevelopment will be essential too so that children and young people throughout the world have the opportunities to access education. We also have long called for a strong international commitment toward achievement of the Millennium development goals, and have focused our own efforts particularly on alleviating gender discrimination, access to healthcare, and eradicating child labour and human trafficking.
Strategic importance
Shaikh Abdullah said the Arab World continues to hold high strategic importance, not just for the world's economy and energy supply, but also from a security perspective, which has made the region synonymous with both great opportunities and great challenges.
"Today, in the face of these opportunities and challenges, Arabs have begun to draw on their rich past in their response to them: through the prevalent mood of a ‘spirit of possibility' — where the countries across the region believe once again that it is possible to develop and implement visions of transformative and far-reaching change," Shaikh Abdullah said . He said the Arab League and the UAE has embodied this experience and this new mood of possibility and change, which has been at the core of the creation of its diverse, tolerant and open society.
