Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates Bader Almatrooshi wrote to Việt Nam News on the country's National Day

The UAE’s National Day which is also called Union Day, is not only a celebration of unity but it’s also a reminder of our founding fathers who worked very hard to make a difficult dream come true. Anyone who understands the circumstances before the union would not believe that this country could tremendously advance in such a short period of time.

Today, the UAE is a leading model in the field of sustainable economic development on the global stage. The nation has achieved an unprecedented milestone in its foreign trade during the first half of 2023, hitting over 1.2 trillion UAE dirhams and marking an increase of 14.4 per cent in comparison to the previous year.

As part of its forward strategies, the UAE has solidified its commitment to space exploration, and recently we celebrated astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi’s significant space mission as the first Arab astronaut to conduct a lengthy stay and spacewalk on the International Space Station.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met with Việt Nam's Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính on the sidelines of the joint summit between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), on October 20, 2023 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Photo WAM

In the face of today's global challenges, climate change stands as one of the most significant. The UAE remains a global leader in adopting effective policies to address these challenges. The UAE is currently hosting the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) at Expo Dubai. The conference brings together world leaders and experts in an effort to mitigate the risks facing our planet. Through this global conference, the UAE prioritises accelerating sustainable development goals and expanding the scope of energy transformations.

As conflicts and global challenges continue to arise, the UAE’s foreign policy solidifies its commitment to supporting peace and security. During its UN Security Council tenure, the UAE played a prominent role in addressing crucial challenges of our time.

This included promoting peaceful conflict resolution, prioritising humanitarian relief, safeguarding peace, addressing global health crises, harnessing innovation, developing the international framework to combat terrorism, supporting gender equality, and empowering women. The UAE's positions are distinguished by its support of development issues and humanitarian cooperation at the global level, which has earned it a position among the top ten donor countries in the world.

Since its founding, the UAE has become a member of more than 150 international organisations in various sectors of international cooperation. The UAE's accession to the BRICS group in 2024 will reflect its keenness on multilateralism in supporting peace and development to achieve the well-being and prosperity of peoples and nations around the world.

The UAE was announced last year as a Sectorial Dialogue Partner in ASEAN thanks to the support of all ASEAN countries, and we are working with the General Secretariat on the areas of cooperation for the years ahead.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the UAE Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan met with Việt Nam's Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn on June 14, 2023, in Hà Nội. Photo courtesy of the embassy

This year we are also celebrating the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relations and I want to profoundly thank the Vietnamese government for making the bilateral journey so joyful and constructive, where one of the greatest achievements in the relations is the strong foundation that was cemented throughout the years by the blessings of the leadership and the hard work of both governments.

There are other reasons that make this year a special one in the relations including the recent meeting between UAE’s President and Vietnamese Prime Minister on the sidelines of the ASEAN-GCC Summit, the visit of Việt Nam's Vice President and Minister of Industry and Trade to UAE, the visits of UAE’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of State for International Trade to Việt Nam. We are also looking forward to the upcoming visit by the Prime Minister who will lead Việt Nam’s delegation to COP28.

Last year, our bilateral trade reached US$8.7 billion, making the UAE the biggest trade partner for Việt Nam in the region. We are confident that this exchange will increase after signing the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement that is being negotiated.

Holding the second round of political consultations, the fifth round of the Joint Committee, and the admission of more than 30 Vietnamese companies to the UAE based World Logistics Passport Initiative are few out of many examples of the ongoing vibrant developments in the relations.

Both nations share a common commitment to economic growth, prosperity, culture, viewing international cooperation as essential pillars of global peace and stability, innovation, and sustainability.

The two countries collaborated in a joint project “the Beyond 2020” Initiative related to the Zayed Sustainability Prize, where drinking water was provided to 10,000 people living in rural communities in Việt Nam. VNS