Noura Al Kaabi leads UAE delegation to Paris Peace Forum

Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi in Paris Peace Forum

Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of State, led the UAE delegation participating in the 6th edition of the Paris Peace Forum, which is being held under the theme “Seeking Common Ground in a World of Rivalry”.

The Forum was held from 10th to 11th November, 2023, and was attended by Emmanuel Macron, President of the Republic of France. Al Kaabi and the UAE delegation participated in several activities convened in conjunction with the forum, including the international humanitarian conference for Gaza’s civilians and the committee meeting to implement the “The Paris Pact for People and the Planet (4P)”.

This annual event is attended by heads of State and governments, in addition to key decision-makers from the private and government sectors and representatives from international organisations aiming to explore innovative solutions for global challenges. The forum addresses four main priorities: protecting the planet and the people, ensuring trust and safety in the digital world, addressing inequalities and accelerating SDGs, and building peace and a safer world.

Al Kaabi said, “The Paris Peace Forum contributes to delivering pragmatic and sustainable solutions for common global challenges such as climate change, the digital divide, and economic inequality between countries and societies, especially under the current circumstances, and the conflicts’ ramifications witnessed across various sectors. Such challenges require devising solutions that tackle these obstacles through cooperation, joint efforts, and mutual understanding.”

She emphasised the UAE’s keenness towards multilateral action with all the relevant parties and the international community to effectively combat such challenges, and adopt and develop innovative solutions to transform them into comprehensive and sustainable development opportunities in the world, which is a deep-rooted approach by the country.

The international humanitarian conference for Gaza’s civilians

Al Kaabi also engaged in the international humanitarian conference for Gaza’s civilians, hosted in Paris in an initiative launched by President Macron, that was attended by several heads of State and governments. The conference explored the pressing conditions of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and ways to mobilise efforts from all stakeholders including countries, charitable entities, and active international organisations in Gaza, to meet the humanitarian needs of the Palestinians.

The conference aimed to strengthen efforts to protect civilians and humanitarian aid workers, distribute relief aid in the Gaza Strip, and meet medical, water, energy, and food needs, in addition to supporting international field entities and organisations.

During her participation in the conference, Al Kaabi emphasised the UAE’s firm position in calling for the importance of prioritising de-escalation, protecting civilians, and opening humanitarian corridors to allow the immediate, safe, sustainable, and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza, while reaffirming the importance of providing complete protection for civilians, and the need to ensure that they are not targeted during the conflict.

She reiterated that the UAE is keen on providing all means of support to civilians in Gaza, and has expressed its solidarity with the families impacted by the ongoing war. The UAE is also committed to alleviating the suffering of the most vulnerable groups, especially children, who constitute nearly half of the population of the Gaza Strip (over one million children), which has been reflected through several initiatives launched by the UAE to provide support and relief for the Palestinian people and mitigate the severity of the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Al Kaabi stated, “Since the beginning of the crisis, the UAE has delivered urgent humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people. On October 10th, President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan ordered the allocation of US$20 million in humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in light of the severe humanitarian conditions they face. Following this, on November 1st, His Highness directed the provision of medical treatment at UAE hospitals for 1,000 Palestinian children accompanied by their families from the Gaza Strip, to provide them with necessary medical and health care and ensure their recovery prior to their safe return. Furthermore, on November 6th, His Highness ordered the establishment of an integrated field hospital in the Gaza Strip, to provide Palestinians with necessary medical care.”

Al Kaabi also highlighted that on October 13th, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, directed the provision of urgent humanitarian aid of AED 50 million, through “Mohammed bin Rashid Global Initiatives”.

“The UAE launched the ‘Tarahum for Gaza’ campaign on October 13th, which created centres to collect and prepare humanitarian relief packages, with the participation of charitable and humanitarian organisations, volunteers, the private sector, and all segments of society, for the purpose of providing aid to the Palestinians impacted,” she added.

Committee meeting to implement the “The Paris Pact for People and the Planet (4P)”

Al Kaabi took part in the committee meeting to implement the “The Paris Pact for People and the Planet (4P)” at the Ministerial level, which included representatives from States, governments, and organisations preparing for the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), following the ‘New Global Financing Pact’ summit, which was held on June 22nd and 23rd in Paris, and was launched by the French President.

The summit’s goals consisted of promoting international initiatives aiming to support developed and underdeveloped countries, facilitating the acquisition of the necessary cash liquidity to combat economic repercussions as a result of successive global challenges, including climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in addition to the issues that were subsequently caused by these challenges in the fields of energy, food, and supply chains.

The committee meeting intended to build upon the outcomes of the summit and to promote international cooperation in devising the appropriate mechanisms of acquiring the financing needed to reach the desired sustainable development in relevant countries, through an approved roadmap.