Shaikh Abdullah made his remarks at a meeting on Monday with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Li Zhaoxing in Beijing at the start of his visit to China.

The meeting dealt with UAE-China bilateral relations, the regional and international situation, as well as political issues of mutual concern, mainly the Middle East peace process and also the situation in Iraq and Iran’s nuclear issue.

Shaikh Abdullah highlighted China’s role in the Middle East, particularly in light of the Arab peace initiative which was approved during the recent Arab summit in Riyadh.

Israeli aggression
He called for putting an end to the Israeli aggression on the Palestinian people and to the suffering of the Iraqi people.

“The UAE supports efforts to reach a peaceful settlement on Iran’s nuclear issue,’’ he said, adding that the UAE is interested in developing relations with Iran.

Islands issue
“It is necessary that Iran ends its occupation of the three UAE islands of Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunbs.’’

The UAE supports efforts to implement a permanent and just peace in the Middle East and to benefit from the encouraging atmosphere following the Makkah agreement between the two main Palestinian factions.’

He further praised China’s role in Afghanistan and in the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear issue.

He called on the Sudanese government to work toward putting an end to the humanitarian tragedy in Darfur and cooperate with the African Union and the United Nations.

Economic thrust
Shaikh Abdullah said his current visit to Beijing is aimed at boostingand extending the economic, trade and investment relations between the UAE and China.

Underscoring the growing political and economic relations between the two countries, Shaikh Abdullah said volume of trade between the UAE and China reached $ 14 billion.

The Chinese minister said Shaikh Abdullah’s visit is an opportunity to boost the unique friendly bilateral relations between the UAE and China which has seen significant growth in all areas.

Shaikh Abdullah and Li signed a memorandum of understanding to set up a team to be tasked with boosting bilateral relations between the two countries.

Another MoU was signed by UAE Ambassador to China, Mohammed Rashid Al Bout and director of the China National Tourism Administration Shao Qiwei to facilitate travel for Chinese tourist groups to the UAE