Mogherini looks to further EU cooperation with Kuwait, UAE

High Representative Federica Mogherini i and Kuwaiti Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Khalid Al-Jarallah today signed a Cooperation Arrangement between the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which aims to increase the number of exchanges between officials and promote regular political dialogue and concrete cooperation initiatives.

Earlier Later in the day, the High Representative met with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates, welcoming the achievements of recent months to deepen EU-UAE relations as shown by the establishment of an EU Delegation in Abu Dhabi. The two also discussed the ways to streamline implementation of the reciprocal Visa Waiver Agreement concluded in 2015 between the UAE and Schengen members for the benefit of the European and Emirati citizens.

During her meeting with Minister Al-Jarallah, Mogherini commended the work of H.H. Emir Sabah in promoting a peaceful solution to the Yemeni conflict by hosting UN-facilitated talks in Kuwait City, and discussed international cooperation to solve the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.

With Sheikh Abdullah, she exchanged views on the situation in the region, in particular Libya, highlighting the urgency of making further progress towards the stabilisation of the country. The two sides renewed their commitments to explore additional ways to cooperate more closely in tackling the root causes of violent extremism.

The meetings followed the successful EU-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Joint Council and Ministerial meeting held the previous day in Brussels, which focused on counter-terrorism, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon and Middle East Peace Process.

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Co-Chairs' Statement - 25th EU-GCC Joint Council and Ministerial Meeting