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28 March 2024

Proud of sacred mission to secure nation: Mohammed

Sheikh Mohammed (File)

Published
By WAM

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, paying rich tribute to armed forces has said that "You are the creme de la creme of our bountiful, benevolent, loving, optimistic and highly ambitious country. The celebration of the 35th anniversary of the decision to unify the Armed Forces is also a celebration of a victorious march crowned by the sky-high achievements".

He said this in his address to Dira' Al Watan (Nation Shield Magazine) on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the Armed Forces unification.

Full text of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid's speech:
 

"Dear brothers and sons, officers and soldiers of the Armed Forces, May peace and blessings of Allah be upon you, Once again we attend our annual meeting t o celebrate the historic decision of the unification of our valiant Armed Forces.

I seize this opportunity to congratulate you on your outstanding performance in terms of preparedness, discipline and efficiency, sense of duty, perseverance and passion for military knowledge and experience. I am particularly proud of your deep sense of patriotism, genuine allegiance to our wise leadership, dedication to the sacred mission of strengthening our security and stability and determination to encounter threats.

We hold in great esteem your altruism to keep our head high, our land, waters and airspace intact and our march toward construction, development and progress proceeding as ever. We highly commend the loyalty of our citizens to our wise leadership, their deep appreciation of national achievements whereby the future of our younger generation is secured.

Dear officers and soldiers, There is nothing to feel happier about than national occasions when hearts pound with sublime values, live, gushing memories and priceless lessons whereby the national will is strengthened to carry on with confidence and determination. We are thankful to the Almighty God for showing the right path and enabling us to perform good deeds to our land and people.

The longer we recall this glorious day 35 years ago and the deeper we delve into the conditions under which the unification of the Armed Forces was decided, the better the vision of our founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (May God bless his soul), is appreciated. His historic decision on May 6, 1976 finalised the Federation and guaranteed the success of our fledgling state. The late Sheikh Zayed's gradual implementation of this decision reflected a deep appreciation of realities and genuine understanding of how to carefully introduce changes to attain the cherished national goals. His patronage and building process of the armed forces reflected his farsightedness to preserve our dignity, render our country impregnable, secure and stable and be able to fend off any adventurous conspiracies.

Those who saw with me the unification decision were well aware of the size, structure and weapons of our national army at the earlier stages of formation. Most worrying was the acute shortage of national human resources needed for command, control, planning, organisation, rehabilitation and training. However depressing and frustrating that situation may have been even to the greatest optimists, it only drove our leadership to more hard work and stronger determination to succeed.

So, we managed, in no time, to build these human resources who are in charge today - resources of all ranks, levels and responsibilities who are highly efficient in command, control, planning, execution and management of top-notch weapons and weapon systems.

It gives me immense pleasure on this proud occasion to express my deepest thanks, appreciation and gratitude to my brother His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, (May God bless him) for his continuous attention to, and care for, our Armed Forces and keenness to provide whatever resources needed to equip them with the latest weapons, systems and skills.

I would like also to thank my brother His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, for his remarkable role in developing our forces and relentless follow up of their affairs to ensure the highest degree of preparedness, excellence and top performance of whatever missions assigned to them by their Supreme Commander.

Dear officers and soldiers You are the creme de la creme of our bountiful, benevolent, loving, optimistic and highly ambitious country. The celebration of the 35th anniversary of the decision to unify the Armed Forces is also a celebration of a victorious march crowned by the sky-high achievements you have realised by perseverance, dedication and loyalty to your country and your leadership all of which add to a long record of amazing achievements in all fields.

The UAE Book - Multiple Chapters, One Title The opening chapter covers the leadership that had laid the foundation stone of our federal state and dedicated time, money and effort to strengthen the newly-formed UAE and render it able to promote goodness, progress and civilization in all parts of the world.

The second chapter enunciates the positive transformation and consolidation resulting from the integration the seven emirates into one federal state, thus replacing narrow, localised affiliations with a wider, all-encompassing national identity - a step we cherish and take pride in.

The third chapter is about how the UAE embarked on a massive manpower-based economic and social development program to upgrade the Islamic and tradition-oriented knowledge base, create awareness of optimal techniques to meet local demands, facilitate civilized interaction and make positive contributions to present-day local, regional and international issues.

Officers and soldiers, Guided by a wise leadership and efficient civil institutions and security agencies, the UAE will continue to remain an oasis of development, progress, security and stability in this changing world and volatile region. It will remain a model for wise, rational leadership and an invincible bulwark for the dignity and decent life of its people. It will also be a living example for the Arab countries, the Gulf Cooperation Council states, and a wider Arab federation, if possible.

Brothers and sons, I seize this opportunity to convey my heart-felt greetings to contributors to this country, to your colleagues who perform their military and humanitarian missions, your senior colleagues who had the honor of joining the services. I would also like to convey on your behalf and on behalf of all security agencies and the UAE people, my congratulations to my brother His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, my brothers Their Highnesses Members of the Supreme Federal Council and Rulers of the Emirates, and to renew our pledge and allegiance to our leadership and beloved country.

May God grant your efforts every success".