UAE | Government
UAE Vice-President and Syrian President stress need for national unity and peace in Lebanon
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Tuesday held talks with Syrian President Bashar Al Assad on inter-Arab relations and economic cooperation.
- WAM
- Published: 15:26 February 19, 2008
- Shaikh Mohammad and Bashar meet in Damascus on Tuesday.
- Image Credit: Reuters
Damascus (WAM) His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Tuesday held talks with Syrian President Bashar Al Assad on inter-Arab relations and economic cooperation.
The two leaders discussed bilateral ties and ways to broaden avenues of cooperation and deepen economic partnership.
They also discussed a number of issues pertaining to Arab unity and joint action as well as ways to consolidate Arab solidarity.
Shaikh Mohammad and Bashar stressed the importance of coordination and consultation among Arab leaders to reach a common ground based on the Arab nation's destiny, joint aspirations and hopes.
They reviewed the preparations for the next Arab summit to be held in Damascus in March and ways to make it a success, especially at this critical stage, which requires collaborative Arab efforts to reach a common stand on all issues concerning the Arab nation.
The situation in Iraq and Arab efforts to achieve peace in the war-ravaged country were also among other topics discussed during the closed-door meeting.
The Vice-President and the Syrian leader stressed the need to regain the national unity and achieve peace in Lebanon.
"My visit to Syria comes within the framework of the continuous consultation between the leaderships of both nations to enhance the brotherly relations and Arab solidarity," Shaikh Mohammad said in a statement upon arrival.
Present at the talks were Shaikh Maktoum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Deputy Ruler, Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister, Syrian Vice-President Farouk Al Shara'a and Syrian Foreign Minister Waleed Al Mua'alem.
Earlier, Shaikh Mohammad was received by Al Shara'a, Al Mua'alem and other officials on his arrived at Damascus. Shaikh Mohammad's visit to Syria reflects the brotherly relations between the two countries and people, the Vice-President said. He stressed that his talks with Bashar would be fruitful on all sides.
Al Shara'a welcomed Shaikh Mohammad's visit, pointing out that it lays the foundation for consultation and coordination between Arab leaderships to stand up to the challenges and achieve Arab solidarity.
Al Shara'a praised UAE-Syrian relations and described them as exemplary and a source of pride and hope. Bashar hosted a lunch banquet in honour of Shaikh Mohammad and his delegation. Later, Shaikh Mohammad left Damascus where he was seen off by Bashar, Al Shara'a and other senior officials.
praised
'we have excellent ties'
Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister, praised the UAE-Syrian relations as excellent.
The strong ties were demonstrated by the visit of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Syria last year, and the visit of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
"Syria is an important country in the region and plays major role in the Arab League, and that the UAE always seeks to cement its ties with Syria at all levels," Shaikh Abdullah said in a statement following his meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al Mua'alem.
- WAM
Damascus The visit of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to Syria evoked great interest from the Syrian Arab News Agency (Sana).
The news agency praised the distinguished ties between the two countries. The visit came within the framework of the continuous consultations and coordination between the two countries in the light of the current developments in the region which require an Arab solidarity to rise up to the challenges facing the Arab nation, Sana said in a report issued yesterday.
Sana also said the visit aimed to enhance the joint Arab efforts to serve Arab issues.
The report elaborated on the bilateral relations between the UAE and Syria, based on joint principles of cooperation to achieve its targets and serve the interests of the Arab nation.
Sana also said serving Arab interests is a top priority for the two countries, which have played important roles during difficult circumstances in the region during the last decade.
The report said Shaikh Mohammad and Syrian President Bashar Al Assad stressed the importance of investing all capabilities in the two countries, increasing economic cooperation, boosting trade and implementing agreements signed by the two countries.
Sana also pointed out the distinguished relations between the two countries reflect the intention of both leaderships to develop their bilateral relations, as the UAE is Syria's biggest economic partner today, where trade between the two countries reached 100 per cent and has jumped from six to 13 billion Syrian Lira's in the last few years.
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