GENEVA (WAM)

H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, has met with the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric Egger.

During the meeting, discussions were held on joint cooperation between the UAE and the International Committee of the Red Cross in the humanitarian and relief fields and efforts to support the humanitarian needs of affected civilians in the Gaza Strip, Syria, Ukraine, Sudan and Afghanistan.

The two sides reviewed the initiatives undertaken by the UAE to deliver humanitarian aid to affected regions and peoples worldwide. They discussed mechanisms to enhance international cooperation to support the humanitarian response system for civilians in the Gaza Strip.

They also touched upon regional and international efforts aimed at achieving a sustainable ceasefire to contribute to the protection of the lives of all civilians and the provision of the necessary humanitarian support to the Palestinian people.

The UAE's Top Diplomat stressed the importance of the humanitarian and relief role played by the International Committee of the Red Cross, praising the Committee's outstanding efforts and its keenness to fulfil the noble humanitarian tasks entrusted to it in the best possible manner.

Sheikh Abdullah pointed out the keenness of the UAE, represented by its humanitarian arms and institutions concerned, to cooperate with the International Committee of the Red Cross and extend a helping hand and humanitarian assistance to those in need around the world.

He affirmed that the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip requires concerted efforts by the international community to establish a global humanitarian response system conducive to providing relief to civilians in the Strip in a safe, uninterrupted manner that would ultimately contribute to alleviating their suffering.

The meeting was attended by Saeed Mubarak Al Hajeri, Assistant Foreign Minister for Economic and Trade Affairs, and Ambassador Jamal Al Musharakh, the UAE's Permanent Representative to the UN and other international organisations in Geneva,