On Wednesday 31 January, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Abdullah, signed a cooperation agreement between the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"This cooperation agreement scales up the relation between the EU and the UAE through an intensification of political dialogue and strengthened cooperation on key strategic issues of mutual interest, notably trade facilitation and research", the EEAS states in a press release. It adds that these are key areas to accompany the UAE's Vision 2021 plans "to boost growth, accelerate economic diversification and shift towards a knowledge based society".
During their meeting, Mogherini and Sheikh Abdullah also discussed recent developments in the region, especially in Yemen, Iran, Syria, the Middle East peace process and Libya. The situation in the Sahel was also addressed, at a time when the UAE has recently announced a contribution of $30 million to the Sahel Joint Force, and also in view of the high level international conference on the Sahel to be held in Brussels on 23 February. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)