Moroccan Minister visits UAE pavilion at Marrakech Climate Conference

Salaheddine Mezouar, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Morocco and Chairman of Supervisory Committee of 22nd session of the Conference of Parties (COP22) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), has visited the UAE pavilion on the sidelines of the conference, being held in Marrakech, Morocco.

He was received by Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment and a number of senior Emirati officials.

The Moroccan minister thanked the UAE government and people for their huge support to the conference to achieve its objectives. While touring the pavilion, the Moroccan minister was briefed on the renewable energy projects being implemented by the UAE, notably the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which will become the world's largest solar energy project at one site. When completed by 2030, the project will provide a production capacity of 5,000 megawatts, enough to supply 800,000 homes with electricity.

The Moroccan minister was also briefed on the projects carried out by Masdar in several countries around the world, where it provided to residents a reliable supply of clean and safe energy from sustainable sources, and helped to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels for power generation as well as lowered harmful carbon emissions and provided thousands of jobs for the people of these countries.

He had a detailed explanation for the tireless efforts made by the UAE under the guidance of the leadership on the follow-up of the outputs and resolutions of the Paris Climate Conference in 2015 to translate them into programmes and projects.

The Moroccan Foreign Minister stressed the need for international solidarity to tackle the effects of climate change and put environmental issues at the top of economic development priorities.

The two sides also discussed opportunities for the exchange of expertise in the renewable energy sector. Both parties referred to the UAE economic development model that takes into account the environmental and economic aspects. This successful and viable model could be applicable in countries facing the negative impacts of the climate change.

At the conclusion of the visit, Dr. Al Zeyoudi thanked the Moroccan minister on his visit to the UAE's pavilion, expressing the readiness of the state to maintain contact and coordination with the Moroccan side at the highest levels.

The UAE delegation to COP22 included Sheikh Sultan bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, Special Adviser to the UAE President, Suhail bin Mohammed Faraj Faris Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy, Mohammed bin Ahmad Al Bowardi, Minister of State for Defence Affairs, Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director-General of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, and Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority.