Mohammed bin Zayed and Mohammed bin Salman: our relations are firm and our destiny is shared

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, affirmed that relations between the UAE and Saudi Arabia are not only historical and strategic, but blood relations and a common destiny, while His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud The Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, that the strong relations between the leaderships of the two countries and peoples, based on solid and historical foundations of cooperation and common policies towards the affairs of the region and the world and their issues.

This came during the chairmanship of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the second meeting of the Saudi-UAE Coordination Council, which was hosted by the capital Abu Dhabi.

The meeting comes in light of the continuous efforts exerted by the two countries to activate the joint cooperation axes to integrate them economically, developmentally, knowledge and military. The meeting was attended by members of the Council, the Chairmen of the Executive Committee and the General Secretariat of the Executive Committee.

At the beginning of the meeting, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan welcomed His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman and said: “My brother and dear friend Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz .. I am pleased to welcome you among your family in the UAE, and I salute through your person I wish the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia leadership, government and people, continued progress, prosperity and stability. ”

His Highness added: «Perhaps the best thing I start to talk about the relations between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, is the words of our father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, God bless him, when asked about Saudi Arabia, he said: (United Arab Emirates is We believe that fate is the same, and we should stand as one man and stand together among us. '' He pointed out that these short words of Sheikh Zayed, may God have mercy on him, were expressive and precedent for time, and painted historical and strategic relations between the two countries, appeared It has been confirmed in many, many positions over the past decades.

His Highness stressed that the formation of the Saudi-Emirati Coordination Council, under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and his brother the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the King of Saudi Arabia, was a translation of these strong ties, and the aim of making them stronger and more solid. And build a bright future for our two countries.

His Highness said that the great achievements and positive results achieved by the Saudi-UAE Coordination Council on the ground are heartening and gratifying, pointing out that the Council has launched, during the last short period, specific initiatives to achieve the well-being of the peoples of both countries. The field of economy, security, human development and others.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan added: “Our common economy ranks 16th globally, and we can work together to become one of the top 10 economies in the world. Our foreign investments now exceed $ 250 billion in various economic sectors. "We will increase our investments to be among the top 10 countries investing globally, and our financial markets exceed $ 720 billion, and strive to be among the top 10 financial markets in the world."

His Highness stressed that this unique model of integration is not only beneficial to both countries, but also leads the Gulf Cooperation Council and provides an exceptional model for Arab-Arab cooperation, and puts the two countries in a distinguished position on the map of global alliances.

His Highness pointed out that the relations between the UAE and Saudi Arabia are not only historical and strategic relations, but are relations of blood and a common destiny, established by Sheikh Zayed and his brothers the kings of the Kingdom, may God have mercy on them. The wisdom and will of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

His Highness said: "We have worked over the past years to make a qualitative strategic transformation in our bilateral relations, and we will continue on this path towards building a better future that achieves security, prosperity and comprehensive development of our countries and peoples, and we look forward to further growth and development of strategic cooperation between our two countries." "It benefits the security and stability of the region."

For his part, HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud said: “We are delighted to be among our brothers to participate in the second meeting of the Saudi-UAE Coordination Council, which is a model platform for achieving the visions of the two leaderships towards deepening cooperation and enhancing integration between the two countries in various fields. It serves the interests of their brotherly peoples and deepens the bonds of brotherhood that bind them together. I am happy to be among you and our second country preparing to celebrate the precious anniversary of the Union, and remember the men who have embarked on the development process that we are taking today to new heights. The two countries and their peoples are built on solid and historical bases of cooperation and common policies towards the affairs of the region and the world and their issues.

The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia added: “The depth of relations between the two countries was clearly reflected in the harmony of the vision of the Saudi-UAE coordination council, with the national strategies of the two countries, and the integration of (Saudi Vision 2030) and (UAE Vision 2021), which They aim to achieve lasting leadership and prosperity, by the grace of God, for their brotherly peoples, to build hope and promote progress in the region. ”

His Highness pointed out that the year 2020 is the year of international achievements, we are on the threshold of hosting major international events that we have reached after the planning, work and continuous effort. Saudi Arabia's presidency of the Group of 20 during 2020, and the UAE's hosting of Expo 2020 What they have of international prestige.

"In this Council, we aim to achieve an exceptional model of joint cooperation based on the strengths of the two countries and the spirit of determination and leadership enjoyed by their people," he said.

The meeting reviewed the work of the Council and the progress of work, and proposed new areas of cooperation for the adoption of a range of initiatives and projects aimed at achieving security and prosperity of the two brotherly peoples, in addition to presenting initiatives and achievements made at the level of priority sectors.

He also reviewed the initiatives and achievements made during the first session of the Council, which consisted of seven strategic initiatives: the joint tourist visa, facilitating the flow of traffic between customs ports, the joint food security strategy, cybersecurity, the common digital currency and the new giant refinery project. Saudi - UAE Youth Council.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, received His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who arrived in the country, on a two-day state visit.

His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman received an official reception upon his arrival at Al Watan Palace in the capital Abu Dhabi, while his convoy was accompanied by a few horsemen on the horses of the Arabian horses.

Prior to the arrival of HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman's parade, the Emirates Knights National Air Show Team flew over the palace sky, forming a painting with the flag of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Folkloric Troupe performed its folkloric performances and various traditional songs. And celebrating the visit.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was escorted to the podium of honor, and the national peacocks of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were played, while the artillery fired 21 rounds to welcome the Crown Prince's visit.

UAE warplanes accompanied the plane carrying His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman when he entered the airspace of the UAE, a tribute to His Highness. .

Strategic initiatives include a joint tourist visa and facilitating the flow of traffic between ports

During the second meeting of the Saudi-UAE Coordinating Council, a number of strategic initiatives were reviewed in a number of priority axes, which come after months of joint work between the complementary committees of the Executive Committee, to emerge as initiatives through which the Council achieves the full exploitation of the energies and resources of the two countries. Promoting cooperation and promoting the interests of the two brotherly peoples, these initiatives included the following:

1 - Joint tourist visa .. Cooperation between the General Authority for Tourism and National Heritage in the Kingdom with the Ministry of Economy in the United Arab Emirates, to issue a joint tourist visa for residents of the two countries upon arrival, which contributes to increase tourism movement between them, and enhance the contribution of tourism in the national economy of the two countries.

2- Facilitating the flow of traffic between customs ports .. The General Authority of Customs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is working with the Federal Customs Authority in the United Arab Emirates to facilitate the flow of traffic in ports, which will enhance customs cooperation for the flow of trade traffic at customs ports between the two countries. After launching the reduction in the period of 'customs clearance' from 14 hours in 2018 to four hours in 2019, to be reduced this period in the coming years.

3. The Joint Food Security Strategy: This initiative aims at strengthening the work between the two countries in the field of food security to ensure overcoming the food challenges facing the two countries in particular and the region in general. The joint cooperation will work to provide safe and sustainable food at reasonable prices. For all and in all circumstances.

4. Cybersecurity The initiative aims to enhance cybersecurity in both countries and support the provision of a reliable cyberspace for each country through which electronic services and transactions can be provided. Cooperation between the two countries will support their efforts in preventing and mitigating cyber attacks targeting both countries. In particular, significant damage is likely to occur as a result of cyber attacks, and in various areas, such as economic, political, and other damages. Reducing cyber attacks, compared to total cyber attacks on sensitive sectors by 55 %.This decrease resulted in saving 257 million dirhams compared to 2018, reducing the time required to respond to cyber attacks from a maximum of 24 hours, to six hours, and a decrease in the time required to recover from attacks Cybercrime by 25%, saving more than 500,000 dirhams per day per attack, and increasing awareness of entities and individuals about cyber threats by 30%.

5 - The common digital currency .. Issuing an electronic digital currency on an experimental basis, and the circulation between a number of banks of the two countries, in order to understand and study the dimensions of modern technologies and their usefulness in enhancing financial stability, and know the extent of their impact on improving and reducing the costs of transfers, and to assess technical risks and how to deal In addition, to qualify the cadres who will deal with future technologies, understand the requirements of issuing a digital currency to be used between two countries, in addition to finding an additional means for the central remittance systems in both countries, and allow banks to deal with each other directly to carry out remittances.

6 - The new giant refinery project .. Construction of a new crude oil refinery, with a capacity of 1.2 million barrels per day, integrated with a modern petrochemical complex, at an initial cost of $ 70 billion, in the state of Maharashtra in western India, to secure the supply of At least 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Saudi and UAE crude oil for the Indian market, with a high percentage of conversion to chemicals.

The initiative aims to provide dedicated sales outlets for Saudi and UAE crude oil in the Indian refining and petrochemical market, and through participation in the refinery development project and petrochemical complex to produce transport fuels according to the latest international technical specifications (gasoline, jet fuel, diesel), in addition to a range of chemical products Its main target is the Indian domestic market, which is expected to grow steadily in the coming decades, with the possibility of exporting surplus products to global markets.

7 - Saudi-Emirati Youth Council .. This initiative comes to strengthen the partnership between the youth in the two countries, exchange ideas between them, and coordinate efforts to raise capacity to lead to the investment of their energies and potential in the development of society, and will work to enable youth to contribute and participate actively in the development of perceptions We have launched an interactive platform and a guide to explain the mechanism and objectives of the Saudi-UAE Youth Council, prepare a quarterly report on the performance of the Council, and communicate the ideas of youth to the readers. T in two.

4 notes

In conjunction with the second meeting of the Saudi-UAE Coordination Council, the two sides exchanged four new memorandums of understanding in the fields of health, culture, space and food security, with the aim of intensifying and integrating efforts and finding innovative solutions to optimize the utilization of available resources and reach the development goals of both countries. The memorandums exchanged between the two sides are: Memorandum of Understanding in the health field, Memorandum of Understanding in the cultural field, Memorandum of Understanding in the fields of space and Memorandum of Understanding in the fields of food security.