Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, and Commissioner-General of Expo 2020 Dubai, and Dr. Nayef Falah Mubarak Al Hajraf, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), attended the launch of the GCC Youth Forum hosted by the Youth Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.

Held under the theme “United Youth, Shared Vision”, and co-organised by the Arab Youth Centre and UAE Federal Youth Authority, in collaboration with the GCC Secretariat-General and ministries of youth and sports in the GCC countries, the three-day forum will discuss the GCC youth’s vision for accelerating the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, lessons learnt, and joint cooperation in projects and initiatives to empower and build capacities of the young generation to better serve the homelands.

The agenda of the forum will centre on four focus areas: common GCC identity; the role of youth during recovery from COVID-19 pandemic; youth empowerment, and opportunities and entrepreneurship.

Sheikh Nahyan said, “The convening of this forum in the UAE is under the wise directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who always confirms the UAE’s great determination to mobilise the energies of the individual and prepare him to play his role in shaping the future of the country, the region and the world.”

“In the UAE and the GCC states, we are keen to see young people have a strong connection to the movement of their societies, and that they become more generous and compassionate, show a high degree of tolerance, and love, with more desire for cooperation and sympathy, stronger pride in our immortal heritage, and in giving and serving society. We want them to demonstrate a greater commitment to developing good relations with everyone without discrimination or distinction.”

Addressing the event, the GCC chief said, “We have seen our youth during the COVID-19 pandemic inventing solutions to do business and support the economy. We have seen them in the front lines implementing the directives of our leaders without tirelessness or boredom, with determination to provide effective solutions to accelerate the process of recovery from the effects of the pandemic that struck the world.”

In a message to the youth, he urged them to continue achieving the best for the future of their homeland and the peoples of the region.

“Go ahead, this decade is yours and the future is yours,” he told them.