Dubai UAE, 24 Oct 2018: At the World Green Economy Summit 2018, the Zayed International Foundation for the Environment and the UNOSSC hosted a special event “Commemorating the Environmental Legacy and Leadership of the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan”, and announced that the South-South in Action report UAE Special Edition will be translated into Arabic to benefit more developing countries from the Arab States region.
The event was held as part of a series of celebrations which took place globally throughout the year 2018 for the “Year of Zayed – Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Founding Father of the UAE”.
H.E. Prof. Dr. Mohamed Ahmed Bin Fahad, Chairman, Zayed International Foundation for the Environment, Dr. Meshgan Al Awar, Secretary-General of the Zayed International Foundation for the Environment, and Mr. Jorge Chediek, Envoy of the Secretary-General on South-South Cooperation and Director of the UNOSSC addressed the event.
H.E. Prof. Dr. Mohamed Ahmed Bin Fahad and Mr. Jorge Chediek signed, on behalf of the two entities, a Statement of Intent committing joint support to the “Youth4South: Advanced Youth Leadership Programme” and capacity development in promoting South-South and triangular cooperation in environment protection and sustainable development, through joint trainings, events and activities in UAE and globally including the GSSD EXPOs, 2019 BAPA+40 Second High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation, and World EXPO 2020.
Dr. Meshgan Al Awar, Secretary-General of the Zayed International Foundation for the Environment, provided keynote remarks and a short lecture on the legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. She reminded participants of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan’s drive for sustainability, becoming a world leader in this area decades before the United Nations began to develop the sustainable development goals.
Mr. Jorge Chediek, Envoy of the Secretary-General on South-South Cooperation and Director of UNOSSC commended the Government of the UAE and the Zayed International Foundation for the Environment for their commitment to sustainable development, including their role as host of the 2016 Global South-South Development Expo. He remarked that “in under 50 years the UAE has grown from a developing country to an advanced economy, and is now working to share the solutions that enabled this development. UAE has proved to the world that the so-called “oil curse” and “middle income country trap” can be overcome, and the benefit of natural resources can contribute to achieving sustainable development. In all that it does, the UAE embodies the spirit of South-South cooperation”.
At the event, H.E. Prof. Dr. Mohamed Ahmed Bin Fahad, Dr. Meshgan Al Awar, and Mr. Jorge Chediek jointly launched the special edition of UNOSSC’s South-South in Action report titled “UAE Support to Advocate and Showcase South-South and Triangular Cooperation Solutions”.
It was announced that the Arabic translation of this report will be made available to the public before the end of 2018 with an aim of benefiting developing countries in the Arab States region.
