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Russia key in maintaining stability in region, says Sheikh Abdullah

Abu Dhabi - He called for further efforts by business and industrial sectors to explore opportunities for joint investments.

Russia is a key political and economic partner in the endeavours to realise the comprehensive development of the Middle East and support its stability, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said during the opening speech of the fourth session of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum in Abu Dhabi, which he presided over on Wednesday.
Sheikh Abdullah also emphasised the importance of strengthening Arab-Russian cooperation and taking it to a new level.
He opened his speech by welcoming Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign minister; Ahmed Abul Al Gheit, Secretary-General of the Arab League; Arab Foreign Ministers and other delegates attending the forum.
Sheikh Abdullah also praised the growing Arab-Russian cooperation, saying trade between the two sides rose to about $15 billion.
"Still, such cooperation remains below our ambitions, given the huge potential Arab countries and Russia have, particularly in the areas of agriculture, industry, tourism, energy, renewable energy, transport, telecommunications, environment and technology transfer," he added.
He called for further efforts by business and industrial sectors to explore opportunities for joint investments that are protected by advanced and flexible legislations to allow smooth flow of capital, and to address obstacles relating to customs and taxes.
"Our region and the whole world endured several crises and conflicts during this decade. That has led to the emergence of new and gruesome forms of terrorism and extremism, which wreaked havoc on Arab states," he said.
"The past few years," he continued, "have seen an unprecedented collapse of stability in the Middle East that required rallying efforts of the international community to find solutions to the crises.
"In this context, we recognise the importance of strengthening ties of friendship between Arab countries and Russia, and to develop them into a true partnership. We believe Russia is a key political and economic partner capable of playing an effective role in the efforts to realise the comprehensive development of, and maintain stability in the region." Sheikh Abdullah went on to say that terrorism and extremism have become a global plague that endangers the age old Arab values, including respect for diversity and tolerance.
Sheikh Abdullah expressed hope that the Arab-Russian Forum will support the Arab measures, aimed at maintaining sovereignty and territory integrity of Arab states.
At the end of his speech, the UAE Minister again welcomed the Russian Foreign Minister and praised Russia's stances in support of the Arab world, and thanked President Vladimir Putin of Russia for his keen interest in deepening ties with Arab countries.
Resolution on combatting terrorist
In his speech, Lavrov expressed sincere gratitude to the UAE for hosting the Forum.
"We met in Moscow a year ago, when the last session of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum was held. We approved a Plan of Action to implement the principles, aims and goals of our joint mechanism for 2016-2018," he said.
"It is gratifying that the majority of this plan's provisions are being implemented and are facilitating both cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Arab world and the efforts to settle the many conflicts that, regrettably, have emerged in this region. I mean Syria, Libya, Yemen and Iraq," he added.
Russia has submitted to the UN Security Council a draft resolution on combatting terrorist and extremist ideologies.
"We hope that these efforts will be coordinated with our Arab friends. Russia firmly believes that traditional religious denominations are the key allies states can rely on as they seek to counter the spread of terrorist ideology and prevent people from becoming radicalised. We attach great importance to promoting dialogue among civilisations as part of global efforts to preserve traditional values and counter all forms of intolerance, discrimination and attempts to achieve superiority.- Wam
1. Iran: Sheikh Abdullah said extremism has been "further aggravated by the Iranian intervention in Arab affairs and the dangers it poses on regional security and peace." This is clearly evident in Iran's continuing occupation of the UAE's three islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb And Abu Musa, he said.
2. Yemen: Sheikh Abdullah stressed the importance of committing to supporting its legitimacy, and maintaining the country's unity, as well as reject Iran's intervention in its internal affairs. He also stressed his support for a political solution in Yemen, based on GCC initiatives and Yemeni dialogue, as well as international resolutions, including the Security Council resolution 2216.
3. Syria: Sheikh Abdullah referred to the dangerous situation and Iran's intervention which undermined the political solution for the Syrian crisis.
4. Libya: Sheikh Abdullah welcomed the political agreement, which was reached in Skhirat, among the different Libyan parties, saying there was no alternative to dialogue to address difficulties facing implementation of the agreement.
5. Palestine: The Foreign Minister lamented the international community's failure to address the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and its flagrant violation of the rights of the Palestinian people.