The UAE is an important partner in Afghanistan as part of an international security alliance, the head of Nato said yesterday after a meeting in Brussels with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The Nato secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, commended the "significant" role of the country in Afghanistan and its humanitarian aid to the Afghan people.
"The UAE is very important for Nato in the Istanbul Co-operation Initiative (ICI) as it contributes tremendously to peacekeeping in the Balkans and in Afghanistan," he said. "Nato and the ICI face the same challenges that cannot be tackled by any country alone."
He was speaking after a meeting of Nato foreign ministers.
Sheikh Abdullah reiterated the commitment of the UAE to work with Nato on ensuring regional security and peace, and on the exchange of information, training and defence expertise.
In October, Abu Dhabi hosted high-ranking officials from the 28 Nato countries to chart a way forward, after which the UAE signed a security agreement on swapping intelligence.
"We are looking forward to promoting these important ties between the UAE and Nato," Mr Rasmussen said yesterday.
James Appathurai, the Nato spokesman, said at a press conference that the UAE's participation in the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) was "valuable and yielded positive results", according to WAM, the state news agency.
"Being a Muslim country, the UAE has a lot of credibility in dealing with the Afghan people, and it enjoys a lot of respect there, and its participation in reconstruction, building, education, services, aid and peacekeeping operations has made it closer to the Afghans," he said.
He added that the country's contribution was evident in its field work and that the UAE had always "proven its adherence to the values of freedom, justice and equality that are derived from the real spirit of Islam".
sbhattacharya@thenational.ae
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company profile
Name: One Good Thing
Founders: Bridgett Lau and Micheal Cooke
Based in: Dubai
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 5 employees
Stage: Looking for seed funding
Investors: Self-funded and seeking external investors
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
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RESULTS
Tottenham 1
Jan Vertonghen 13'
Norwich 1
Josip Drmic 78'
2-3 on penalties
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5