Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed speaks to Vatican Secretary of State about extremism and hatred

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs, has met Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of Vatican City, to discuss the need to “confront the scourge of extremism and hatred”.

The meeting took place in Abu Dhabi on the sidelines of the World Summit of Religious Leaders for Climate, an event being held as part of the countdown to the Cop28 climate change summit.

Sheikh Abdullah and Cardinal Parolin discussed several issues, including climate change, relations between the two nations and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, state news agency Wam reported.

“The UAE attaches great importance to consolidating growing and developed relations with the Vatican state, and the countries work to build bridges of dialogue and co-operation between different cultures and religions,” Sheikh Abdullah said.

“We also believe in the importance of confronting the scourge of extremism and hatred that undermines any efforts keen to achieve peace and consolidation of tolerance and global coexistence.”

Sheikh Abdullah also pointed to the role religious leaders play in raising awareness about the effects of climate change and the importance of unifying efforts to protect the future of the planet.

Cardinal Parolin praised the efforts of the UAE to spread the values ​​of peace, tolerance and coexistence among people, Wam stated.

He also expressed his best wishes to the UAE as hosts of Cop28, which is to take place in Expo City Dubai from November 30 to December 12.

Importance of Cop28

Pope Francis will travel to Dubai for three days for the climate change conference.

The Pope announced he would be attending during an interview on RAI last week and is expected to be in the UAE from December 1 to 3.

“We are still in time to stop it,” the Pope said, referring to global warming.

“Our future is at stake, the future of our children and our grandchildren. A bit of responsibility is needed.”

The pontiff has placed the environment front and centre of his papacy.

Last month, the Pope urged those taking part in Cop28 to agree to policies to phase out the use of fossil fuels.

He said the world's transition to clean, renewable energy was not progressing fast enough.

But the pontiff said the climate conference presented an opportunity to create “a change of direction”, with real commitments to moving to clean energy sources, including wind and solar.