The Minister of Climate Change and Environment of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri has commended the Maldives' 2030 net-zero goal.

She made the remarks during a meeting with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

The Minister of Climate Change and Environment of UAE paid a courtesy call on President Solih on Wednesday morning.

The meeting was held at the President's Office.

At the meeting, President Solih welcomed Minister Almheiri to the Maldives and conveyed greetings and good wishes to the leaders of the UAE. He also noted that the Maldives highly values its long-standing fraternal bonds of friendship with the UAE, rooted in Islamic and cultural links and our shared values.

Speaking with the President, Minister Almheiri applauded the administration's leadership and emphasized on some of the administration's outstanding initiatives to combat climate change, such as the Maldives' net-zero target by 2030.

President Solih and Minister Almheiri also spoke about working together to ensure the success of the upcoming 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) to be held in Expo City Dubai from November 30, 2023, to December 12, 2023. President Solih expressed his hopes that the process of the Global Stocktake to evaluate the progress of the implementation of the Paris Agreement would produce strong outcomes.

Reiterating the Maldives' support for the UAE's presidency of the COP28, President Solih expressed confidence in the operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund, which was agreed upon at the COP27.

Minister Almheiri noted that this is a matter of importance that will be addressed during COP28. She also highlighted the UAE's continued efforts to bolster adaptation and mitigation plans to counter the impact of climate change.

The Maldives and the UAE established diplomatic relations on March 15, 1978.