Solidarity among leaders: When Sheikh Zayed met Emile Lahoud

We reflect on the moment the UAE's Founding Father greeted the former Lebanese President

Sheikh Zayed, the Founding Father, left, welcomes Lebanese president Emile Lahoud in Abu Dhabi, in April 2000. AFP

This photograph was taken on April 18, 2000, showing the moment the former Lebanese president Emile Lahoud was greeted by Sheikh Zayed, the Founding Father, as Lahoud arrived in Abu Dhabi for a two-day visit. He had just been in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and was travelling to Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt and Iran next, as part of a tour of the Middle East.

The two Arab leaders discussed the Middle East Peace Process and bilateral ties, reported UAE news agency Wam. Sheikh Zayed, it said, had emphasised the importance of solidarity and unity.

Lahoud, who had been a military commander before he was voted into power in 1998, would go on to serve another seven years in office after this moment. When Sheikh Zayed died, in November 2004, Lahoud said the UAE leader's death was a "loss for his people, for Lebanon, for the Arab states and for the entire world."