'UAE today is a role model for progress'

The President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has affirmed that safeguarding the Union experiment is a sustained national goal that requires both the leadership and people maintain consciousness, unity and solidarity, in order to elevate the values of the Union; to reinforce its foundations and principles; to empower its citizens and to leverage the existing interactions and integration between the Federal State and local governments in a manner that enables their institutions to shoulder their national responsibilities with full integrity and transparency.

''As we celebrate the anniversary of the establishment of our State, we sense the tremendous national work that have been accomplished over the past ten years since we took the solemn oath to carry the banner, to bear the responsibility and to discharge the duty as President of the United Arab Emirates, as carried before by my father, the late founding father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and his brothers the late founding fathers, who brought about stability, security and prosperity, thus setting a role model for their nation in instilling the values of dignity and glory,'' said Sheikh Khalifa in a statement to  ‘Dira'a Al Watan’ magazine on the occasion of the 43rd National Day of the UAE.

''The 2nd of December will always remain deeply embedded in our minds as a day for deepening our love of the nation, enhancing the values of belonging and loyalty, a day on which we recall - with pride – our commendable and honourable history and the lives of  our founding fathers, who shaped the aspirations of the nation and its citizens when they united the different emirates into a unified, single political entity, the United Arab Emirates, the 43rd anniversary of whose establishment we mark today,'' the President said.

He emphasised that the UAE would move forward, taking the legacy of forefathers as a beacon from which it inspires and derives glory and persistence.

''We are also proud of the loyal support we have received from the people and the strong assistance from the government, which, combined together, have transformed visions and initiatives into strategies, policies and activities whose prime objectives are to secure a decent life for citizens and to place the State among the ranks of the world's most advanced nations.''

The President said that he was delighted with the giant, staggering leap in terms of civilisation that the nation has made.

''Thanks to your perseverance and the dedication of the able national leadership, our State today is ranked among the ''high human development" category in the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Index (HDI) and leads the Arab Region in many international prominent indices including Innovation, Happiness, Quality of Life, and the Ease of Doing Business. Globally, the UAE occupies first place in the indices of Social Cohesion, Efficiency in Government, Efficiency of Governmental Fiscal Policy, and Government and Economic Confidence. 

These breakthroughs, he noted, have established the UAE as a key regional hub for international trade, a regional beacon in the empowerment of women. The UAE is also ranked among the world's best countries in indices for security and stability. Furthermore, our youth, who are deeply committed to religious and ethical values and are well-armed with knowledge and science, ranked highest for having a sense of optimism about the future of their country.

To sustain and preserve these achievements, Sheikh Khalifa called for more efforts for taking care of the children of the nation – the men of the future – by building national specialised capacities, empowering outstanding competencies, and opening up more channels of communication with young generations, so as to understand their aspirations, engage them in the policy-making process and its implementation and to mobilise their energies towards effective participation in the continuing process of national development.

''We also hope to see new initiatives for fostering talented minds in all fields and new national strategies to nurture small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) that promote the spirit of entrepreneurship and the initiative of youth, who are the backbone of the nation and its renewable assets.''

The President also expressed satisfaction with the level of implementation of government projects embodied in ‘The President's Initiatives’, ‘UAE Vision 2021’ and ‘The UAE National Agenda 2014.’

''We are also proud of launching the ‘National Innovation Strategy’ which envisages plans for reshaping the mechanism of government work and stimulating innovative practices in seven governmental sectors, including renewable energy, transportation, health, education, technology, water and space.''

''We are also proud of the overwhelming enthusiasm shown by the youth towards enrolment in the national military service. Apart from its social, cultural, educational, health and physical benefits, military service is a national duty, honour and responsibility as well as a supporting hand for our gallant Armed Forces.’

''To enhance efforts for security and stability in the region, we look forward for building better relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, a hope that is only hampered by Iran's continued occupation of our three islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs. Iran's reluctance to reach any understanding or peaceful solutions - either through direct negotiations  or international arbitration – and its unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of Arab and Gulf states is a stumbling block in the way of achieving  the much-needed regional security and harmony in the region,'' he added.

''We will, God willing, move ahead vehemently and confidently on our march, armed with pride in our nation, to protect its interests and the welfare of its citizens, setting our eyes directly on the present and future of the State. Aided with relentless perseverance, we will build the promising future to which we all aspire,'' the President concluded.

Regionally, the President highly valued the initiative by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, which brought together the GCC leaders in an extraordinary summit and ironed out differences, thus giving a further push to GCC cooperation and integration.

He remarked that the UAE was looking forward to active participation in the upcoming GCC Summit in the Qatari capital Doha. That participation, he stressed, will underline the UAE's firm commitment to support collective security and joint collaborative work that will realise aspirations of GCC peoples for stability and prosperity, and preserve the prominence and achievements made by the GCC states.

On the UAE's engagement in the fight against terrorism, the President said:'' Defending the same values, and guided by our foreign policy principles, our State is participating in the international alliance to fight terrorism, a move we have taken with our full will, as part of our commitment to collective responsibility in supporting security and stability of the region and the world at large.''

''It also confirms our firm position of abhorring terrorism, extremism and violence, and of defending our choices and the fundamental elements of our well-established experiment which is based on the values of openness, tolerance and moderation. Building on this, we have issued a full- fledged federal law on combating terrorist crimes.”

Sheikh Khalifa also said he was deeply concerned and saddened about what some countries of our Arab region have suffered in terms of violence and insecurity and in terms of the failure of their states. ''The only way out of this, in our view, is to mobilise concerted official and popular efforts within states to achieve reconciliation, rally resources and efforts against terrorism and to drain the sources that support it while, at the same time, implementing development projects that enhance dignity of the human being inside his country, respect his choices, provide him with basic living needs through a sustainable development, stable economy and good governance. Development is the essence of security.''

''Consequently, we are confident that a successful Egypt will be the gateway to peace and moderation in the Arab world. It is incumbent upon us and upon the region and international community to contribute to efforts aimed at enhancing its stability and supporting its economic and social development in order to enable it to rise up strongly and restore its leading role in the Arab world.

''We also call for more Arab and international efforts to be exerted to back legitimacy and its institutions in Libya, Yemen and Somalia, in a manner that safeguards the security of these countries and restore tranquillity and stability to their peoples.  We also welcome the transformations taking place in Iraq and call on all its parties to achieve broader reconciliation and accord on national principles, in a way that restores the stature of the state and security to the Iraqi people. In Syria, we stress the importance of unifying the regional and international vision in handling the Syrian crisis in order to reach to a peaceful process, which is capable of halting the squandering of abilities and the wasting of resources, as well as of stopping the bloodshed.''

Sheikh Khalifa also welcomed both the Government of Sweden's decision and the British House of Commons' vote to recognise the state of Palestine, as a step in the right direction, consistent with the recognition issued by the UN General Assembly in November 2012.

This, he underscored, increases opportunities for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East, which never be attained without Israel's withdrawal from the occupied West Bank in Palestine, Syria's Golan Heights and South Lebanon, and the establishment of  fully-fledged, sovereign Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

''Thanks to the fact that human interaction is a key principle in our foreign policy, our State occupies an advanced place in the network of forces for good in the world. It has joined elite actors working to promote the culture of peace and dialogue, to deliver assistance, to mitigate impact of crises and meet the requirements of the underprivileged. Our firm foreign policy commitment to these values has given our national diplomacy high credibility, enabling our State to build constructive ties of cooperation and integration with various countries and peoples of the world.''

Following is the full text of the President's statement.

“Dear men and women of the UAE,
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh

“On this enduring anniversary, we extend our warm congratulations and appreciation and pray to Allah The Almighty to revisit this glorious occasion as our nation enjoys continuous security, stability, progress and achievements.  You are contributing to the march of the building and prosperity of the nation with committed dedication and giving. On behalf of you, we also send our sincere congratulations to my brother His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, my brothers Their Highnesses Members of the Supreme Council of the Union and Rulers of the Emirates, as they lead the victorious Union march, guided by sound directives and comprehensive care, towards its aspired goals. Special thanks and salutations also go to the commanders, officers and personnel of the UAE Armed Forces and to our security agencies, who are always fully alert and vigilant to defend the nation, its citizens and their gains.

“Dear citizens,

“The 2nd of December will always remain deeply embedded in our minds as a day for deepening our love of the nation, enhancing the values of belonging and loyalty, a day on which we recall - with pride – our commendable and honourable history and the lives of  our founding fathers, who shaped the aspirations of the nation and its citizens when they united the different emirates into a unified, single political entity, the United Arab Emirates, the 43rd anniversary of whose establishment we mark today.

“Safeguarding the Union experiment is a sustained national goal. This requires from all of us that we should maintain our consciousness, unity and solidarity, in order to elevate the values of the Union; to reinforce its foundations and principles; to empower its citizens and to leverage the existing interactions and integration between the Federal State and local governments in a manner that enables their institutions to shoulder their national responsibilities with full integrity and transparency, in pursuit of building a strong, well-established and entrenched country whose people feel proud to defend it and to preserve its achievements and gains.

“As we celebrate the anniversary of the establishment of our State, we sense the tremendous national work that have been accomplished over the past ten years since we took  the solemn oath to carry the banner, to bear the responsibility and to discharge the duty as President of the United Arab Emirates, as carried before by my father, the late founding father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and his brothers the late founding fathers, who brought about stability, security and prosperity, thus setting a role model for their nation in instilling the values of dignity and glory.

“To that allegiance, we stay loyal and move forward, taking the legacy of forefathers as our beacon from which we inspire and derive glory and persistence. We are also proud of the loyal support we have received from the people and the strong assistance from the government, which, combined together, have transformed visions and initiatives into strategies, policies and activities whose prime objectives are to secure a decent life for citizens and to place the State among the ranks of the world's most advanced nations.

 “Loyal people of the UAE,

“We are delighted with the giant, staggering leap in terms of civilisation that our nation has made. Thanks to your perseverance and the dedication of the able national leadership, our State today is ranked among the ‘high human development’ category in the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Index (HDI) and leads the Arab Region in many international prominent indices including Innovation, Happiness, Quality of Life, and the Ease of Doing Business. Globally, the UAE occupies first place in the indices of Social Cohesion, Efficiency in Government, Efficiency of Governmental Fiscal Policy, and Government and Economic Confidence.  These breakthroughs have established the UAE as a key regional hub for international trade, a regional beacon in the empowerment of women. The UAE is also ranked among the world's best countries in indices for security and stability. Furthermore, our youth, who are deeply committed to religious and ethical values and are well-armed with knowledge and science, ranked highest for having a sense of optimism about the future of their country.

“These achievements, my dear brothers, stand testimony to what our country enjoys. This includes political stability, economic growth, integrated modern infrastructure, and thriving business sectors as well as world class high quality health, educational, housing and environmental services. Additionally, our government adopts international best practices, makes use of the highest qualified competencies, and employs advanced systems and technologies. It is a government whose foremost quest is to make people happy, to safeguard their dignity and to guarantee their rights. Our government has allocated about 50 per cent of the Union budget for the fiscal year 2015 for the sectors of social development and benefits in order to improve the quality of life of our citizens and to ensure stability of the family, which is the focus of the State's attention and care.

“Our experiment derives its righteousness, its special features and distinction from its ability to deliver achievements and goals, and from its commitment to evaluate its practices, to review its performance and correct mistakes, and to respond to requirements of the present generations without polluting the environment, depleting natural resources or squandering the rights of future generations.

“To sustain and preserve these achievements, we call for more efforts for taking care of the children of the nation – the men of the future – by building national specialised capacities, empowering outstanding competencies, and opening up more channels of communication with young generations, so as to understand their aspirations, engage them in the policy-making process and its implementation and to mobilise their energies towards effective participation in the continuing process of national development. We also hope to see new initiatives for fostering talented minds in all fields and new national strategies to nurture small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) that promote the spirit of entrepreneurship and the initiative of youth, who are the backbone of the nation and its renewable assets.

“Dear citizens,

“We are satisfied with the level of implementation of government projects embodied in ‘The President's Initiatives’, ‘UAE Vision 2021’ and ‘The UAE National Agenda 2014.’ We are also proud of launching the ‘National Innovation Strategy’ which envisages plans for reshaping the mechanism of government work and stimulating innovative practices in seven governmental sectors, including renewable energy, transportation, health, education, technology, water and space.

“We have issued Federal Law No.6 for the Year 2014, on the national military service and reserve force, with the aim of instilling the values of loyalty, belonging and sacrifice, and of fostering the spirit of patriotism in the hearts of citizens so that they may shoulder their national responsibility and heighten their preparedness to defend the State and to protect its independence, sovereignty and achievements. We are also proud of the overwhelming enthusiasm shown by the youth towards enrolment in the national military service. Apart from its social, cultural, educational, health and physical benefits, military service is a national duty, honour and responsibility as well as a supporting hand for our gallant Armed Forces.

“In pursuit of advancing the march of development and prosperity and out of our keen desire for the unity and cohesion of the GCC house, we highly value the initiative by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, which brought together the GCC leaders in an extraordinary summit and ironed out differences, thus giving a further push to GCC cooperation and integration. We also commend the persistence of His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah, the Emir of Kuwait, for his sincere keenness on the GCC unity and for his efforts to narrow the differences between points of view. We also look forward to active participation in the upcoming GCC Summit in the Qatari capital Doha. That participation will underline our firm commitment to support collective security and joint collaborative work that will realise aspirations of our peoples for stability and prosperity, and preserve the prominence and achievements made by our states.

“Defending the same values, and guided by our foreign policy principles, our State is participating in the international alliance to fight terrorism, a move we have taken with our full will, as part of our commitment to collective responsibility in supporting security and stability of the region and the world at large.

“It also confirms our firm position of abhorring terrorism, extremism and violence, and of defending our choices and the fundamental elements of our well-established experiment which is based on the values of openness, tolerance and moderation. Building on this, we have issued a full- fledged federal law on combating terrorist crimes. We have also emphasised that development and terrorism are like parallel lines that will never meet. While development means security, tranquillity and welfare, terrorism is a shortcut to producing a failed state in the political and economic sense, a state that has disintegrated socially and morally and that is fragmented both geographically and in terms of sectarianism.

“In this context, we are deeply concerned and saddened about what some countries of our Arab region have suffered in terms of violence and insecurity and in terms of the failure of their states. The only way out of this, in our view, is to mobilise concerted official and popular efforts within states to achieve reconciliation, rally resources and efforts against terrorism and to drain the sources that support it while, at the same time, implementing development projects that enhance dignity of the human being inside his country, respect his choices, provide him with basic living needs through a sustainable development, stable economy and good governance. Development is the essence of security.

“Consequently, we are confident that a successful Egypt will be the gateway to peace and moderation in the Arab World. It is incumbent upon us and upon the region and international community to contribute to efforts aimed at enhancing its stability and supporting its economic and social development in order to enable it to rise up strongly and restore its leading role in the Arab world. We also call for more Arab and international efforts to be exerted to back legitimacy and its institutions in Libya, Yemen and Somalia, in a manner that safeguards the security of these countries and restore tranquillity and stability to their peoples.  We also welcome the transformations taking place in Iraq and call on all its parties to achieve broader reconciliation and accord on national principles, in a way that restores the stature of the state and security to the Iraqi people. In Syria, we stress the importance of unifying the regional and international vision in handling the Syrian crisis in order to reach to a peaceful process, which is capable of halting the squandering of abilities and the wasting of resources, as well as of stopping the bloodshed.

“To enhance efforts for security and stability in the region, we look forward for building better relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, a hope that is only hampered by Iran's continued occupation of our three islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs. Iran's reluctance to reach any understanding or peaceful solutions - either through direct negotiations or international arbitration – and its unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of Arab and Gulf states is a stumbling block in the way of achieving  the much-needed regional security and harmony in the region.

“Though the UAE is sincerely keen on and committed to maintaining strong, historic partnerships with strategic regional and international actors, our foreign policy is also strongly focused on strengthening cooperation and partnership with the most influential regional and international powers in various continents of the world. The goal is to strike a balance and to achieve diversity in our foreign relations, to broaden the scope of horizons for our national economy, to diversity the State's overseas investments and to formulate clear-cut political  positions, in order to serve our national interests and to support the options of our friends and partners, for the benefit and interest of our people and peoples of the region.

“In this context, we welcome both the Government of Sweden's decision and the British House of Commons' vote to recognise the state of Palestine, as a step in the right direction, consistent with the recognition issued by the UN General Assembly in November 2012. This increases opportunities for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East, which never be attained without Israel's withdrawal from the occupied West Bank in Palestine, Syria's Golan Heights and South Lebanon, and the establishment of  fully-fledged, sovereign Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

“Thanks to the fact that human interaction is a key principle in our foreign policy, our State occupies an advanced place in the network of forces for good in the world. It has joined elite actors working to promote the culture of peace and dialogue, to deliver assistance, to mitigate impact of crises and meet the requirements of the underprivileged. Our firm foreign policy commitment to these values has given our national diplomacy high credibility, enabling our State to build constructive ties of cooperation and integration with various countries and peoples of the world.

“Dear citizens

“We will, God willing, move ahead vehemently and confidently on our march, armed with pride in our nation, to protect its interests and the welfare of its citizens, setting our eyes directly on the present and future of the State. Aided with relentless perseverance, we will build the promising future to which we all aspire.
“May Allah The Almighty guide our steps to the right path.

“Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.

"May you all enjoy good fortune this year, and in the years to come.” 

 

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