New York: Ambassador Lana Nussaibeh, UAE’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, visited New Delhi and Beijing earlier this month at the invitation of the Indian and Chinese governments.

Nussaibeh was accompanied by Kaha Imnadze, Permanent Representative of Georgia to the UN, in their capacity as co-chairs of the Intergovernmental Negotiations on UN Security Council reforms for the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly, appointed by the president of the General Assembly.

Nussaibeh said: “My co-chair and I have had extremely constructive discussions at the most senior levels of government in both India and China. Our exchanges during these visits are a clear indication of how seriously our hosts in both countries take the issue of Security Council reforms specifically, and the future of the UN and multilateralism more broadly. We will strive to meet the high expectations of all UN Member States in facilitating this process on behalf of the president of the General Assembly in a transparent and credible manner.”

In New Delhi, they were received by Sushma Swaraj, the Indian Minister of External Affairs, M.J. Akbar, Minister of State for External Affairs, and Ruchi Ghanashyam, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, and also met other senior ministry officials.

In Beijing, Nussaibeh and Imnadze were received by Wang Yi, the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Li Baodong, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Li Junhua, Director-General of the Department of International Organisations and Conferences at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Nussaibeh and Ali Al Daheri, UAE ambassador to China, also met with Deng Li, Director-General of the Department of West Asian and North African Affairs, to discuss bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest. Al Daheri thanked Deng for the implementation of the visa waiver for all UAE national passport holders which came into effect on January 16, 2018.

Nussaibeh and Imnadze also met with the Vice-Governor of the Shaanxi Province, Wei Zengjun, in the city of Xi’an, one of the cradles of Chinese civilisation and history where they visited the Terracotta Army Museum, a Unesco World Heritage site and the Xi’an Great Mosque.

Nussaibeh conveyed the warm regards from Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in her meetings in both India and China, highlighting that both countries are key partners of the UAE and close friends at the highest levels.

At the conclusion of the visits, she commented: “The UAE greatly values the close and strategic partnerships with both India and China. Much has been achieved in recent years, and as we continue to develop these important relationships, they will benefit our own countries, and the international community as a whole. The strength of our bilateral relationships is also clearly reflected in our constructive partnership in multilateral forums like the UN.”