Today, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, may God protect him, attended the dinner hosted by Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, at the Palace of Versailles in honor of His Highness and the accompanying delegation on a state visit to France.
On the sidelines of the banquet, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan expressed his thanks and appreciation for the warm reception he received during his visit to France.
His Highness said: Dear friend, His Excellency President Emmanuel Macron, I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation for the warm welcome I received during my visit and the accompanying delegation to your ancient country.
His Highness added that the UAE’s relations with France have a special character.. They are based on trust, credibility and mutual respect, and were established by the love and sincerity of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, with the French leaders.
His Highness said that your country and your friendly people enjoy a special status with the UAE and its people. It is true that we have political and economic cooperation relations, but cultural cooperation represents the jewel of our cooperation, which embodies the quality of this strategic partnership.
His Highness expressed his confidence that through joint work, the two parties can provide more opportunities for growth in their relations, and jointly contribute to establishing peace and security in the region and the world.
In conclusion, His Highness renewed his greetings to President Emmanuel Macron, for his constant interest in continuing joint consultation and coordination and developing various aspects of cooperation between him and the two countries, wishing him continued success and the friendly French people further prosperity.
For his part, President Emmanuel Macron welcomed His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to France, expressing his happiness to meet His Highness.
His Excellency said: “I am pleased that you have chosen France to be the destination for your first state visit after your election as President of the United Arab Emirates. I appreciate this interest and realize its importance.”
His Excellency described this visit as historic, noting that the last visit was to the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan during the era of the late President Francois Mitterrand, that was about thirty years ago and since then we have come a long way as the relationship became a partnership and then moved to an alliance strengthened by friendship between the two countries, noting the personal friendship that binds him with His Highness the President of the State.
President Emmanuel Macron said that through your new presidential duties, you will continue your efforts to make the UAE a strong, stable, diversified and growing economy and an influential member on the international scene in facing global and regional challenges. France has been and will remain a faithful friend to you to achieve this ambition, and our relationship It is based on two main pillars: loyalty and reliability.
He stressed that the hope and belief in the future that the two countries build together is an integral part of the bilateral relations.
His Excellency said, “I welcome you to a land that is not foreign to you. We share with Abu Dhabi places that are symbolic of youth and culture, including the Louvre Museum and the Sorbonne University. The UAE has also become a familiar and natural destination for the French, as more than 25,000 of its citizens chose the Emirates as the destination of French ambition.”
The French president added that ambition is at the heart of the two countries’ relations, as it is based on trust as much as it is based on excellence, and pointed to the brilliant success of the economic partnership in energy, infrastructure, transport and new technologies, thanks to joint and mutual investments, and that the common ambition of the two sides today is to deepen and diversify these successes.
He also welcomed the signing of the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement on the transformation in the field of energy and renewable energies, which will allow responding to the challenge facing the world, which is the climate challenge.
He expressed his wishes for the success of the UAE in hosting the “Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change” (COP28) in Dubai during 2023, after seven years since the “Paris Agreement”.
“Your ambitions have met expectations and France will stand by you in your preparations to meet this deadline,” he said.
He also welcomed the expansion of space cooperation between the two sides, which extends to the moon and manned space flights, and said in conclusion… that cooperation reflects the level of our relations, as it is a cooperation that knows no borders.
The banquet was attended by H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court, H.H. Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, member of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Advisor for Special Affairs at the Presidential Court, Sheikh Khalifa bin Tahnoon bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, Executive Director of the Martyrs’ Families Affairs Office at the Court of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and His Excellency Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth, Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Al Muhairi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Her Excellency Shamma bint Suhail bin Faris Al Mazrouei, Minister of State for Youth Affairs, and Dr. Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash, Diplomatic Adviser to His Highness the President of the State and His Excellency Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh, cultural advisor to His Highness the President of the State, His Excellency Ali bin Hammad Al Shamsi, Deputy Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for National Security, and His Excellency Khaldoun Khalifa Al-Mam The President of the Executive Affairs Authority, His Excellency Mohamed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Adviser at the Presidential Court, and Hend Al Otaiba, the UAE’s Ambassador to France.
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