ABU DHABI // Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, President of the UAE, met his Palestinian counterpart here yesterday to discuss how to boost efforts to provide a lasting peace in the Middle East. Sheikh Khalifa, at his meeting with Mahmoud Abbas, reiterated his support for the right of the Palestinian people to establish an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital, the state news agency WAM reported last night.
He expressed his hope that a just and permanent solution could be brokered to ensure the national rights of Palestinian people within an internationally legitimate framework. No further details were released of his meeting with the Palestinian National Authority president. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi; Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, foreign minister; Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, minister of presidential affairs; and Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed, chairman of the board of trustees of the Zayed Foundation for Charity and Humanitarian Work, were among others present to greet Mr Abbas and his delegation.
Also yesterday, the Government announced its recognition of Kosovo as a sovereign state, joining more than 50 other countries in support. The UAE backs the declaration by Kosovo's Albanian-majority political institutions "in accordance with its firm support for the principle of the legitimate right of peoples to self-determination", WAM reported. lmorris@thenational.ae