Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation launches five-year strategy.

H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, launched the Ministry's strategy for 2017-2021 at a ceremony held at its headquarters on Wednesday.

Those attending the event observed a minute's silence to pay tribute to martyr Juma Mohammed Al Kaabi, the UAE Ambassador to Afghanistan, who succumbed to his injuries sustained in a terrorist attack in Kandahar on 10th January.

Dr. Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs; Mohammad Mir Al Raisi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, along with a number of assistants to the Minister, assistant under-secretaries and staff were also present.

H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed said that the five-year strategy aims to energise the UAE diplomacy and consolidate the country's prominent standing regionally and internationally. He also called for maximising efforts to attain paradigm shifts and address the challenges ahead.

''The five-year strategy fits well into the approaches of the UAE government and the UAE Vision 2021, and seeks to achieve the objectives of the government, especially the requirements of the citizens, ensure improvement of government work towards realisation of sustainable development, and elevate the UAE's stature globally,'' he added.

Commenting on Al Kaabi's death, Gargash said that the UAE's Ambassador to Afghanistan joined the nation's martyred diplomats who offered ultimate sacrifice for building the homeland and preserving its dignity.

''The UAE today is stronger and more glorious because of these ultimate sacrifices, which were made for advancing humanitarian work. The nation's martyred diplomats were on a humanitarian mission in Afghanistan,'' he stated.

Gargash said that the Ministry drew its vision from the authentic values imbibed by the founding fathers, which call for co-operation and peaceful existence with other cultures so as to realise prosperity that benefits all people. The Ministry's vision is consistent with the UAE's quest to become one of the best countries in the world by 2021.

''Towards this end, we have set out 23 high-priority initiatives and our strategic, ambitious goals rest on four key pillars: community, regional stability, effective international responsibility and prosperity.

On the community pillar, the Minister said, "We are seeking to make the UAE passport among the world's most powerful five travel documents by 2021 as we direct the Ministry's resources to serve the citizens better and increase community welfare.'' Speaking about regional stability, Gargash said that the Ministry seeks to mobilise its efforts to counter terrorism and present the UAE as a role model for the civilised state, which represents the moderate Islam that accepts and tolerate differences and prefers patriotism to sectarianism and doctrinism.

Commenting on affective international responsibility, Gargash said efforts would be exerted to maintain the UAE's global leadership in the area of development aid while focusing on developmental projects that would contribute to lessen hunger and poverty, and ensure empowerment of women and girls in developing countries.

As for the pillar of prosperity, Gargash said the strategy aims to consolidate the UAE's economic strength.

''We are planning to launch the first Emirates export-import bank to support national exports and increase non-oil gross domestic product,'' he revealed.

According to him, a total of seven teams will be set up to lay down detailed plans of each initiative, oversee their implementation and present periodic progress reports to H.H. Sheikh Abdullah.

At the end, H.H. Sheikh Abdullah and Gargash honoured the winners of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation's Excellence Award.

The embassies of Egypt, Bahrain, India, Colombia, Ireland, Singapore and Kenya were recognised for their excellent co-operation with the Ministry to realise aspired goals. Ambassadors and diplomats representing these diplomatic missions received the awards. Other winners in various categories were also honoured.

Launched in 2014, the Award was one of the first excellence awards applied at the internal level at the ministries, and at the federal and local levels as well.

It is the driving force for the development of institutional and functional performance of the ministry, and enables it to provide quality services to all clients and beneficiaries of its services.

The award aims to make a real quantum leap in terms of applied performance, concepts and practices, and management techniques in the ministry, through the application of standards of institutional and functional excellence.