UAE-UK Consular Committee convenes for 8th session

The UAE UK Consular Committee convened virtually for its 8th session on Tuesday March 16, 2021. The meeting was led by HE Faisal Lutfi, Assistant Undersecretary for Consular Affairs at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and HE Jennifer Anderson, Director for Consular Affairs in the UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO). 

The meeting was attended by representatives from various departments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship, the Ministry of Justice, the National Emergency and Crisis Management Authority, the General Civil Aviation Authority and the Ministry of Health in the UAE, as well as representatives of competent authorities in the United Kingdom.

His Excellency Faisal Lutfi conveyed the greetings of His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and his praise of the strong bilateral relations between the two countries in the consular field and his wishes of success for the meeting. 

The two sides discussed joint consular matters, follow-up plans and means to develop them. They also explored means of enhancing joint consular cooperation between the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.  

During the meeting, His Excellency Faisal Lutfi affirmed the UAE's keenness and interest in strengthening and developing relations between the two countries, reflecting the aspirations and orientations of the country’s leadership. He added that bilateral relations between the UAE and the UK have witnessed qualitative shifts since the beginning of the global Covid-19 pandemic, a direct contribution to consolidating and advancing these relations on both bilateral and global levels. 

He also stressed that the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom have strong and solid relations anchored in history and based on many common interests.

As part of the UAE's efforts to intensify international cooperation amid COVID 19 pandemic, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC) and the United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on April 4, 2020, regarding transit flights for British nationals during the COVID-19 emergency period. The MoU aimed to facilitate the repatriation of British nationals through UAE airports in extraordinary circumstances. 

For her part, Her Excellency Jennifer Anderson praised the development of bilateral relations between the two countries over the past years, especially in the field of consular cooperation and particularly during the global Covid-19 crisis.

She praised the experience of the UAE, which boasts one of the pioneering experiences in this field, stressing that her country aspires to develop cooperation and exchange experiences with the UAE in this area, to the benefit of the citizens of the two countries, and to strengthen bilateral relations between the two friendly countries.