Prince William, second in line to the British throne, made a climate-focused visit to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.
His visit includes the capital, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai, where he will participate in the United Kingdom’s national day celebrations at Expo 2020.
Prince William met with Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Office, at Jubail Mangrove Park in Abu Dhabi.
Talks focused on their work on globally impactful sustainability initiatives.
They were briefed on Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi's (EAD) ongoing work to protect the environment and enhance biodiversity.
“Excited to be arriving in Dubai,” the Prince tweeted on Wednesday, along with a picture taken from an aircraft window.
The visit, at the request of Britain's foreign office, comes as it seeks to deepen trade relations with the UAE as part of its post-Brexit strategy.
In line with Prince William’s visit, the UAE launched the Abu Dhabi Mangrove Initiative, which aims to establish the emirate as a leading global hub for research and innovation on mangrove conservation and resilience.
The initiative, which will be implemented by EAD in cooperation with the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), which is sponsored by Queen Elizabeth II.
It will provide a platform for innovation in mangrove research, climate change mitigation, and community engagement and see a state-of-the-art mangrove nursery established in Abu Dhabi as a research, learning, and outreach center.
The Mangrove Initiative will focus on sustainability and preserving the natural environment, providing vital research for supporting biodiversity - including the development of more resilient varieties of the mangrove, which will in turn help protect the Abu Dhabi coastline, the Prince tweeted.
He then headed to Dubai, where he visited Jebel Ali Port, one of the world’s busiest, to learn about efforts to fight the illegal wildlife trade.
He later arrived at Dubai's Expo site and met with Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Sheikh Hamdan underscored the deep historical ties between their countries and their shared willingness to push forward bilateral ties, especially in the fields of sustainability and environmental conservation.
He stressed that the environment protection and the nation’s biodiversity is one of the UAE government’s top priorities.
