UAE- Al Qubaisi meets with Austrian National Council President

VIENNA 24th April 2016 (WAM) -- President of the Austrian National Council Doris Bures has received Dr. Amel Abdullah Al Qubaisi the Speaker of the Federal National Council (FNC) and the accompanying delegation at the parliament in Vienna.

The UAE parliamentary delegation led by Al Qubaisi is visiting Austria at the invitation of the Austrian National Council.

During the meeting Dr. Al Qubaisi stressed that the bilateral relations between the UAE and Austria are strong and have been growing steadily in all sectors thanks to the support from the leaders of the two countries.

She stressed the importance of harnessing economic and investment potentials in the best interest of the two countries.

Dr. Al Qubaisi said "This visit is a historic opportunity to strengthen the relations between the two parliaments as representatives of the two countries to further push these forward to even wider horizons."

She briefed her Austrian counterpart about the sound developmental vision of the UAE leadership referring to the recent ministerial changes for the government of future and innovation which resulted in the setting up of the Ministries of Tolerance and Happiness. "This government bears a strong and clear local and international message about the state's vision and deep-rooted values."

The FNC speaker said the state strives to pursue a sustainable balanced and comprehensive approach towards development to build future generations for the next 50 years by reducing its dependence on oil and using renewable energy.

She noted that the UAE's GDP will grow by 3.5 percent this year to AED1.6 trillion compared to AED1.54 trillion last year. Dr. Al Qubaisi expected that the annual growth rate of the GDP from 2016- 2021 would be 4 per cent.

The UAE official underlined that the UAE's leadership plans to build a stronger economy based on advanced industries and scientific research citing that the government has set a clear vision for the future economic map to ensure that the non-oil sector grows at about 5 percent annually.

Dr. Al Qubaisi also referred to the women empowerment programme initiated by the UAE President and the community to revamp the comprehensive development process.

To boost the parliamentary ties the FNC speaker presented a memo to her counterpart to set up a friendship committee between the two parliaments with the aim to exchange expertise and coordinate at the international parliamentary forums.

She referred to the role played by parliaments in promoting cultural dialogue between people and contributing to spreading of values of tolerance and co-existence. She said the UAE hosts over 200 nationalities who live in harmony.

Dr. Al Qubaisi said the views of the two countries were identical on issues of security stability and development as well as fighting terrorism and extreme ideas being spread by the terrorist groups who do not at all represent Islam.

She said the participation of the UAE in Yemen to back the legitimate government is part of its foreign policy to safeguard the security and stability of that country. Dr. Al Qubaisi said the UAE has been playing its role in Operation Restoring Hope to rebuild and develop Yemen and help brothers in Yemen to restore their normal lives and to build schools hospitals and entire infrastructure.

For her part the Austrian National Council president welcomed the UAE parliamentary delegation and congratulated Dr. Al Qubaisi on her election as the first female speaker in the Arab world and the Middle East. She also commended the strength of the UAE-Austrian relations citing the UAE's pivotal role at the regional and international levels.

At the end of the meeting the FNC speaker signed in the visitor register book and exchanged memento gifts with the Austrian counterpart.