‘Peaceful co-existence of diverse peoples one UAE’s many distinguishing features’

Tolerance, security, job opportunities, attractive environment for investment, advanced infrastructure and tax-free income are the main factors attracting more than 200 nationalities to live and work in the UAE.

That was the conclusion of a recent symposium on “UAE in the eyes of foreigners.”

University professors of different nationalities spoke at the forum which was attended by ambassadors and students of Zayed University.

Dr. Afaf Al Batayneh and Stephen Gardiner,  professors at Zayed University and  Francis Matthew, journalist at Gulf News, spoke at the forum.

The symposium also discussed the views of young Emiratis towards foreigners.

Mariam Al Abdouly, Nouf Yaqoub and Alia’a Al Falasi, students at Zayed University, reviewed the results of a survey they carried out among Emirati students recently.

Dr Batayneh said one of the most distinguishing characteristics of the UAE is the peaceful co-existence of people from diverse ethnic, linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Other distinguishing features of the country were the dominance of the English language in business, religious tolerance and efficient services, she said.

Dr Batayneh said the UAE has refrained from trying to melt all nationalities in one pot or subject them to a dominant culture. It has also avoided interfering in the thorny issues facing the wider Arab world.

She also said the Emirati model is completely different from other GCC countries like Kuwait and Qatar.

In his lecture on “UAE in the eyes of Asians”, Dr Gardiner said there is tolerance and freedom of religious beliefs in UAE. He also said though the UAE has changed fast, it has maintained its identity and traditions. 

Dr Mohammed Murad Abdullah of Dubai Police said a poll showed that 96 per cent of UAE residents felt safe in the country. He added that 97.5 per cent of those polled were satisfied by Dubai Police’s services.

A poll conducted by Zayed University students showed that 48 per cent of young Emiratis considered Arab nationalities as ‘most positive’, followed by Asians (21 per cent), Europeans (16 per cent) and Americans(15 per cent).

46 per cent of young Emiratis said Asians are the most negative, followed by the US (21 per cent), Europeans (20 per cent) and Arabs (13 per cent).

Sixty per cent of the students surveyed expressed fear about the growth in the number of foreign nationals in the UAE. 48 per cent felt the UAE can make progress without foreign nationals but 47 per cent disagreed, saying foreign nationals are important for the UAE’s success.

76 per cent think the existence of foreign nationals does not influence UAE society. Twenty per cent believe that their influence is positive while 29 per cent believe it is negative.



 

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