Britain's Secretary of State for
Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs, Margaret Beckett, paid
a flying visit to the UAE in mid-March,
during which she met with her UAE
counterpart, H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin
Zayed Al Nahyan, for discussions on
key foreign policy issues.
She also met with senior officials of
the Government of Abu Dhabi, led by
the secretary-general of the Abu Dhabi
Executive Council, H.E. Mohammed
Al Bowardi.
The focus of the talks with the Abu
Dhabi team was the enhancement of
economic co-operation between the
Emirate and Britain, with particular
attention being paid to the areas of
education, healthcare, the environment
and sustainable development.
New steps had been taken recently
to develop this co-operation, Al
Bowardi told the Secretary of State,
noting, in particular, the recentlyestablished
partnership with London's
Imperial College
for the setting
up of a diabetes
centre in Abu
Dhabi, as part
of Government
objectives to
offer high quality
healthcare
services to both
UAE citizens and
expatriates. He also outlined recent
developments in terms of Abu Dhabi's
educational system.
"As clearly spelt out by President
H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al
Nahyan, Abu Dhabi is evolving
an educational system that meets
international standards.
We are doing this in partnership
with renowned world institutions of
learning," Al Bowardi said.
"The ultimate aim is bring up a
creative generation that would be
able to stand to the 21st century
challenges," he added.
Among others taking part in the
briefing from the Abu Dhabi side were
Majid Al Mansouri, secretary-general
of the Environment Agency – Abu
Dhabi, EAD, and Hussein Al Nowais,
Chairman of the Board of Directors
of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Fund for
Small and Medium Scale Enterprises.
In a press conference at the end
of her visit, the Foreign Secretary
noted that the UAE was "Britain's
major economic partner in the region,
and among the top ten worldwide"
and expressed the hope that her visit
would help to consolidate bilateral cooperation
between the two countries.
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