President Sheikh Mohamed receives EU's Charles Michel in Abu Dhabi

Leaders discuss coming Gulf-EU meeting and ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict

President Sheikh Mohamed received EU Council President Charles Michel in Abu Dhabi on Friday, marking the conclusion of the European leader's tour of the Gulf.

They discussed ways to boost co-operation between Europe and the UAE. The leaders also spoke about the first Gulf Co-operation Council-EU forum scheduled for October 16 in Brussels.

Heads of state from the EU's 27 members and the six GCC countries are scheduled to attend the coming summit, which builds on a two-year-old strategy to strengthen ties between the two regions.

"President Michel has invested a lot of effort and reach out in the past two years to upgrade the level of relationship between the EU and the GCC," an EU source told The National.

The meeting at Al Shati Palace came on the third and final day of Mr Michel's tour of Gulf nations, which also included diplomatic visits to Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Sheikh Mohamed and Mr Michel discussed tensions in the Middle East, emphasising the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and deescalating tensions in the West Bank.

Mr Michel commended the UAE’s contributions towards peace and stability in the Middle East, and highlighted the growing co-operation between Brussels and the Emirates, state news agency Wam reported.

The President said the UAE would continue to work with the EU to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza and beyond.

The EU in May 2022 launched a strategic partnership that included issues of shared concern, such as security and the green transition. A few months later, it nominated its first EU-Gulf envoy, former Italian Foreign Affairs Minister Luigi di Maio.

Organisers hope the October summit will create a framework to improve co-operation in different areas, the EU source said.

Mr Michel's mandate ends in late November, just over a month after the summit. He is set to be succeeded by former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Costa.

The continuing wars in Gaza and Ukraine have been topics of discussion between Gulf leaders and Mr Michel, who landed on Tuesday in Qatar where he met the Emir Sheikh Tamim.

Mr Michel welcomed Qatar's role in the mediation talks to de-escalate the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. He then travelled to Riyadh for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

Other steps to strengthen ties include the EU's harmonisation of Schengen rule requirements for visa applications in a bid to encourage more Gulf students, entrepreneurs and tourists to visit Europe.

This came one month after the first high-level EU-Gulf security summit to strengthen co-operation on matters such as nuclear proliferation, maritime security, terrorism financing and human trafficking.

Friday's meeting was attended by Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi; Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs; Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs; Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Tahnoun, Adviser for Special Affairs at the Presidential Court; Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Co-operation; and a number of Sheikhs and officials.