His Excellency Dr. Salem Al Neyadi, UAE Ambassador to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), led the UAE delegation participating in the 44th session of the Ministerial Conference of La Francophonie (CMF), which was held in the Cameroonian capital of Yaoundé.

The 44th CMF was held under the theme ‘Good governance: Guarantee of political, economic and cultural stability for French-speaking citizens’, with the participation of several member states and governments, including the UAE, which has participated as an active member for all official conference meetings.

In his speech at the conference, HE Al Neyadi reaffirmed that the UAE shares the noble and humanitarian values and principles with the OIF, which the country seeks to consolidate as a stabilizing influence and a catalyst for constructive interactions in a dynamic and challenging global landscape.

His Excellency stressed the importance of solidarity, reinforcing peaceful coexistence, and tolerance whilst rejecting extremism, racism, and hate speeches, referring to the historic UN Security Council Resolution 2686 (2023) on “tolerance and international peace and security”, co-penned by the UAE and the United Kingdom.

His Excellency stated: “The UAE believes that the only way to resolve conflict and achieve comprehensive development to meet peoples’ aspirations is through respecting countries’ sovereignty, and working towards de-escalation by adopting dialogue and diplomacy, in addition to reinforcing economic connectivity and integration among member states. The UAE also believes in leveraging the abilities and creativity of youth to its maximum, to foster a promising and bright future for future generations.”

As the UAE prepares to host the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), which will be held from November 30th to December 12th, 2023, at Expo City Dubai, HE Al Neyadi expressed his gratitude to the OIF for its support for the key climate conference and for confirming the OIF’s participation at the event. He also welcomed the participation of all member states and all those involved, who will be striving to achieve pragmatic and tangible progress on the subject of climate action.