“Regrettably, it creates instability in the region… It is important for the international community and the (UN) Security Council to take responsibility for keeping the peace and finding a way to stop this,” he said while addressing media with visiting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Konstyantyn Gryshchenko.
Regional politics took centre stage at the Press conference. “We discussed in detail the situation in and around Syria, because we have a great concern regarding these developments,” acknowledged Shaikh Abdullah, referring to his talks with Gryshchenko earlier in the day. “A lot needs to be done to find peaceful solutions, without which there will be a big impact on the region.”
He reiterated the UAE’s and the Arab League’s commitment to finding a political solution that will allow the Syrian people to chart their own future. While expressing sympathy for the “first victims” of the crisis, the minister noted that the UAE and other Middle Eastern countries have begun to experience the spreading consequences of the conflict, such as deepening sectarianism.
Asked about the people detained in the UAE pending investigation, Shaikh Abdullah said the Muslim Brotherhood objects to the idea of national and sovereign state and therefore, it was no surprise that their international organisation is seeking to undermine countries’ sovereignty and laws.
“We have to communicate with different countries for cooperation and discussion. There are mistakes being made by individuals and organisations to undermine nations.”
Shaikh Abdullah said that nobody objects to any activity undertaken by individuals who respect nations’ sovereignty and laws, “but there will be a problem for those nations if a certain organisations that think they have the capacity to breach sovereignty”.
“The UAE and other countries of the world do not tolerate organisations that see themselves as dominant and above the system. As nations, we respect each others and try to provide the best services to our respective citizens but we do not accept that other parties are trying to exploit our openness”.
Earlier, Shaikh Abdullah and his Ukrainian counterpart Konstyantyn Gryshchenko, co-chaired the second meeting of the UAE-Ukraine Joint Ministerial Committee in the presence of top UAE officials.
In his welcome address, Shaikh Abdullah affirmed the UAE’s firm determination to expand joint political cooperation, calling for greater concerted coordination between Abu Dhabi and Kiev in issues of mutual concern at international forums.
He said the two-way trade exchange had reached $ 500 million in 2011 and invited the Ukrainian government to take advantage of the UAE economic competitive edges like its strategic location in the Middle East, its state-of-the art infrastructure, trade and investment opportunities on offer in hope the UAE would become Ukraine’s number one trade partner in the Middle East.
Shaikh Abdullah said the Abu Dhabi meeting provides a fitting platform to explore more investment opportunities in new sectors for further strengthening bilateral relations in areas of economy, trade and investment.
The second meeting, the UAE foreign minister indicated, had discussed a broad range of issues concerning joint cooperation in diverse sectors as investment, trade, economy, small and medium scale enterprises, industry, health, oil and gas, energy, renewable energy, standardisation and meteorology, higher education, defence, culture, justice, space, sports, customs and innovation.
Shaikh Abdullah unveiled that the UAE and Ukraine will sign during the upcoming visit of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to the UAE five agreements on air services, joint protection for classified information, and defence cooperation and memorandum of understanding on security cooperation, draft treaty on mutual legal assistance and extradition of criminals.
Shaikh Abdullah expressed his hope Ukraine would back the UAE bid to host World Expo 2020 in Dubai. He said Kiev would host the third meeting of the joint committee.
For his turn, Gryshchenko said the two sides explored mechanism of boosting bilateral relations. He referred to the meeting of the Ukrainian president with foreign ambassador accredited to Ukraine in which he stressed the importance of furthering bonds with the UAE.
The Ukrainian foreign minister said that the powerful business delegation accompanying him to the meeting had presented packages of promising investment projects in agriculture, shipbuilding and aviation industries.
Ukraine, he noted, had seen steady economic growth and created feasible business opportunities to attract Emirati investors since the first meeting of the joint committee.
The minister said he was impressed with what he had seen at Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) and expressed his country’s interest to benefit from the advanced technology in renewable energy and to encourage Ukrainian students to join the vital specialisation.
He added that around 100,000 Ukrainians visit the UAE every year for trade and tourism. He invited Emiratis to visit Ukraine and enjoy its cultural and tourist attractions.
