Hamdan boosts ties with Germany

Co-operation between the two nations on renewable energy was one of the main topics of discussion at a high-level meeting in Munich.

ABU DHABI // Co-operation between the UAE and Germany on renewable energy was one of the main topics discussed at a high-level meeting between representatives of the two nations in Munich, the state news agency, WAM, reported yesterday. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed met a German delegation led by the former chancellor Gerhard Schröder on Monday night under the auspices of the UAE-German Friendship Committee.

Sheikh Hamdan chaired the UAE delegation and said he had come with specific instructions from the Government to bolster relations between the two countries, which have converged since an agreement on strategic relations was signed five years ago. The meeting was the fourth for the friendship committee. Sheikh Hamdan said joint co-operation would come into effect soon, affecting huge sectors including oil, gas, industry, infrastructure and joint ventures.

He said the Government also put a strong emphasis on renewable energy issues, and representatives from each delegation had discussed more co-operation in the area, which he described as vital. Mr Schröder, who was chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005, praised Sheikh Hamdan, saying that but for his efforts the friendship society would not exist. He also described the UAE as a great friend of Germany.

He said the global financial crisis had demonstrated the significance of new industrial countries such as the UAE, as well as other Gulf nations and developing economies. Meanwhile, the Speaker of the Federal National Council, Abdul Aziz al Ghurair, yesterday received the president of the German parliament, Dr Norbert Lammert, and a visiting delegation. At a meeting held at the FNC headquarters in Abu Dhabi, the German official stressed the need to find a way of ending the suffering of the Palestinian people.