UAE’S role in UN will strengthen global peace
ABU DHABI: Switzerland and the UAE believe in strong multilateral system, which is the need of the hour to address the global challenges such as COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, according to the Swiss foreign minister.
“The fact that Switzerland and the UAE are currently running for a temporary seat on the UN Security Council shows that we both believe in a strong multilateral system,” Ignazio Cassis, Head of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, told Emirates News Agency, WAM.
“If we are elected, we will spend one year together on the Security Council in 2023. So, I see very concrete opportunities to cooperate more on issues of peace and security in the Middle East and the entire world,” he added in an exclusive interview in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
As WAM reported, the United Arab Emirates officially launched its campaign on 29th September to secure an elected non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for the term 2022-2023. The announcement was made during the UAE’S statement at the General Debate of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, delivered by H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
The Swiss minister continued to say that the Swiss government has recently adopted its first digital foreign policy. “We want to use our bridge builder role to advance international cooperation also in the digital space. Switzerland and the UAE are important donors and we want to explore opportunities for further collaboration in this area.”
Currently, almost 3400 Swiss citizens are living in the UAE, Cassis revealed. “Many of them have been attracted by economic opportunities, others are active in academia and elsewhere. People-to-people ties greatly contribute to the relations between states.”
In his two-day visit to Abu Dhabi on Monday and Tuesday, the top Swiss diplomat met with Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and reviewed the prospects of fostering the cooperation and friendship between the two nations in various fields.
The Swiss official noted that trade and “other reasons” make the Gulf Cooperation Council states strategically important to Switzerland.