Egypt’s Minister of Environment Yasmin Fouad and the UAE’s Minister of Climate Change and Environment Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi signed on Thursday the first joint executive programme for environmental protection between Egypt and the UAE.

The programme involves cooperation between the two countries in fields like environmental information systems, solid waste management, environmental impact assessment, environmental disaster management, and environmental awareness.

During the talks held in Cairo, Minister Fouad discussed with the UAE minister and his accompanying delegation a number of environmental issues of common interest including climate change, nature reserves management and ecotourism.

The talks were also attended by Egyptian Tourism Minister Rania Al-Mashat.

Minister Fouad said in a statement that she discussed with the UAE minister the two countries' positions in the negotiations of the 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25), which is currently held in Spain.

She added that they both tackled the role of Egypt and the UAE in supporting the Arab position in the climate negotiations and in achieving the interest of the Arab countries in funding issues and in combating the effects of climate change, especially in the carbon market.

The UAE minister affirmed his country's keenness on continued cooperation with Egypt and other Arab countries.

He stressed the importance of benefiting from international experiences in the field of climate change, including the UAE’s own experience in reducing the use of plastics.