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Second Saudi-UAE Retreat Kicks Off in Riyadh Today
The Saudi-UAE retreat emanating from the Saudi-UAE Coordination Council kicks off tomorrow – Thursday- in Riyadh with the participation of high level delegations from both countries. This is the second round of joint retreats since the first one took place in Abu Dhabi earlier in February.
“Al Azm” –Arabic for resolute- retreat is the result of the directives His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz to focus on consolidating the fraternal relations between the neighboring states and enhance bilateral relations on different levels.
The bilateral retreat in Riyadh is a part of a series of joint meetings between the UAE and Saudi Arabia within the framework of the Saudi-UAE Coordination Council. The council is co-headed by His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defence and Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to discuss areas of common interest and develop a general framework for the work of the Council, paving the way for a new stage of cooperation between the two countries.
The first Saudi-UAE retreat took place last February in Abu Dhabi, during which 150 officials from the UAE and Saudi government and private sectors discussed nine main topics within three main axes namely the economy, human resources development, political and military security cooperation.
Today’s joint retreat will include UAE and Saudi government officials and experts from various sectors, as well as representatives of the private sector. Eleven working groups were formed to discuss scenarios and initiatives that serve mutual cooperation, and create a platform for consultation and coordination among the working groups during both retreats. The retreat will be followed by a series of regular meetings and activities between the various bilateral working groups in the Coordination Council to activate the outcomes of the retreat and discuss the mechanisms for implanting the various cooperation plans.
Specialized workshops will be held on Thursday focusing on three main areas: economic, human, and political , military and security aspects. Sub-topics will be discussed thoroughly to come up with ideas and initiatives to overcome potential challenges.
In the area of economy, the retreat will focus on proposing mechanisms to promote a number of topics, namely: infrastructure and housing, external partnerships, production and industry, agriculture and water resources, services and financial markets, logistics, oil, gas and petrochemicals.
In the area of knowledge and human resources development, the retreat will focus on technical education.
In the area of the military and political cooperation, the retreat will discuss means of enhancing military and political cooperation and coordination.
About the Saudi-UAE Coordination Council
The Saudi-UAE Coordination Council was set up in May of last year and the signing ceremony was attended by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz. The council is co-headed by His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defence of Saudi Arabia. The Council provides the ideal model for bilateral cooperation between countries to consult and coordinate matters of mutual interest in all fields.
The Coordination Council will include joint working groups from different sectors and fields, which will be followed up by a series of meetings during the next phase to intensify bilateral cooperation on subjects of common interest.