UAE carves a niche as a model of coexistence

ABU DHABI: Individuals from more than 200 nationalities call the UAE home and the country is proud to host dozens of Christian churches, two Hindu temples, a Jewish synagogue, a Sikh temple and a Buddhist monastery. In 2022, the UAE will complete the Abrahamic Family House, which will bring together Christian, Jewish and Muslim houses of worship.

As a commercial and creative melting pot at a global crossroads, the UAE seeks to bring nations together to seize opportunities provided by new technology, financing approaches, and policies. The UAE uses a model of “future preparedness,” forecasting future opportunities and risks and aligning the government to address them. As an example, the UAE helped UN Secretary-general Ant?nio Guterres launch the High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation.

In 2020, the UAE’S Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre launched the first Arab interplanetary research expedition, the Hope Mars Mission, made possible through cooperation with dozens of countries.

The UAE pursued its pioneering humanitarian initiatives to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic, an embodiment of its mission that seeks to uphold the values of solidarity and synergy around the world to overcome the repercussions of this crisis.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International

Cooperation, in coordination with the National Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Management Authority, led the response plan since the onset of the crisis of the novel coronavirus outbreak, initiating the repatriation of Emirati citizens from a number of affected countries.

The Ministry urged Emiratis overseas to follow health and safety instructions and abide by preventive measures, and to register in “Twajudi” and contact embassies in their country of residence or the ministry’s call centre when necessary. In this context, The Ministry completed 166 air and ground repatriations from 61 countries, involving 4,043 Emiratis and their companions.

The UAE also facilitated the repatriation of citizens from brotherly and friendly countries, who were stranded in other countries and unable to return to their homes and families, in a solidarity gesturetowardscountriesaffectedbythepandemic.

The UAE also announced its commitment to supporting the UN World Food Programme in its efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Sheikh Abdullah expressed the country’s deep appreciation of the joint UAE-WFP air bridge established in recent days to ensure supply chain continuity for essential medical and humanitarian cargo and services needed across Europe, Asia, and Africa. This is part of an agreement to provide US$10 million worth of PCR COVID-19 testing kits.