ABU DHABI, Furthering the UAE’s vision to support people of determination, and in order to extend bridges of cooperation and exchange of experiences with all relevant local and international authorities, Zayed Higher Organisation for People of Determination (ZHO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the China Disabled Persons’ Federation (CDPF), during a video conference on Wednesday.
Terms of the memorandum include collaborative development and knowledge sharing between the two entities across education, employment, rehabilitation, culture, arts, sports and social services, as well as promoting mutual understanding between the two entities towards developing the services provided to people of determination in both the UAE and China.
The MoU was signed by Abdulla Abdulalee Al Humaidan, ZHO Secretary-General, and Zhou Changkui, President of the China Disabled Persons’ Federation, in the presence of Dr. Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri, the UAE’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China; Ni Jian, the Chinese Ambassador to the UAE; and Zhang Haidi, Chairperson of CDPF.
The cooperation launch ceremony was attended by members of the leadership from both sides.
Dr. Al Dhaheri expressed his joy to see the ZHO-CDPF collaboration as a reality, noting that the UAE and China share a comprehensive and distinctive strategic partnership based on shared values and mutual respect and appreciation.
“The UAE government strongly supports education and learning services for people of determination. The strategy of the UAE Ministry of Education is to adapt public schools to facilitate education for people of determination, and accordingly, afford all people of determination the right to enroll in any school, through the Department of Special Education, which protect the rights of people of determination and ensures their access to the same educational opportunities as students in the mainstream education system,” he added.
Al Humaidan stressed that the MoU is an embodiment of the successful strategic partnerships that link a number of UAE entities and their Chinese counterparts in several fields and represents a practical response to the directives of leaders in the two countries on the need to strengthen cooperation in all areas.
He thanked all CDPF officials for their cooperation and stressed that the organisation seeks to build bridges of communication with all local and international agencies and institutions, to serve people of determination, empower them, and ensure their social inclusion.
Al Humaidan stated that, through this MoU, the Zayed Higher Organisation aims to open new areas for cooperation in various fields with the CDPF, and support people of determination, in line with the UAE’s vision.
Ambassador Ni Jian offered congratulated the UAE on its new partnership.
Jian stated that “the memorandum marks a new milestone for the implementation of shared goals between the leadership of the two countries on strengthening bilateral relations, in a way that opens a new field for Chinese-Emirati cooperation, and adds a new dynamic to humanitarian and cultural cooperation between the two countries.”
He added, “We are currently witnessing the growth and development of comprehensive strategic relations between the two countries, creating future opportunities for in-depth cooperation in support of people of determination. This year marks the centenary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, as well as the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the United Arab Emirates, making the signing of this memorandum of understanding especially significant.”
For her part, Haidi stated that the UAE is an important partner of the Belt and Road Initiative, and an active participant of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, noting that the CDPF looks forward to their collaboration towards driving inclusive development in their countries.
During the signing ceremony, the parties announced plans to launch the “The Emirati-Chinese Sign Language Dictionary Project”, a unified dictionary for Chinese and Emirati sign language and the first strategic partnership and cooperation initiative between the ZHO and the CDPF. The initiative comes in support of initiatives to implement the Abu Dhabi Strategy for People of Determination.
The dictionary contains 100 common words from the Chinese Sign Language and their Emirati Sign Language synonyms, serving as a cultural portal for hearing impaired people of determination in the two countries. The dictionary has been designed to be compatible with Chinese search engines to ensure its usage in China.
Source: Emirates News Agency