Sheikh Mohammed says many leaders promise, we deliver

"If we, 15 years ago, told a prudent man that we were going to develop tourism in Dubai, he would lie down on the ground laughing at the idea… now we plan to raise the number to 15,000,000 tourists… and nobody laughs. "Why? Because people know that when we tell them we are doing something, we will do it, God willing. And meanwhile, they wait for us to explain how we are going to do so." These words published by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in his book My Vision - Challenges in the Race for Excellence , came barely four months after he ascended to power on January 4, 2006. At the time Dubai was playing host to six million tourists, a number that has grown nearly 30 per cent to date. A number that to date inspires awe from even his worst critic. They laughed at the idea of global tourists in a desert. They rejected his plans to launch the region's first airline. They dismissed his plans to make Jebel Ali port bigger and deeper. But his belief in his vision was unwavering. And when each of his dreams met reality the "experts" watched in disbelief as populations flocked to Dubai's shores. Among the millions his emirate opened its arms to were the same naysayers who were now being taught new lessons. It is the best form of vindication. Not words, but action. Not promises, as he put it to students at the University of Berlin, Germany, in 2008, but the deliverance of results. "Many leaders promise, we deliver," said Sheikh Mohammed. Though his formal accession to the rule of Dubai may have come five years ago, the seeds of his vision were sowed back in 1968, when his father Sheikh Rashid appointed his third son the Head of Dubai Police and Public Security. This would be his first public role. At the young age of 19, Sheikh Mohammed would draw from the skills and knowledge he gained during his time at Mons Officer Cadet School, Aldershot, UK, to deliver a safe environment for his people. That he is a hereditary leader with ruling Bani Yas tribal lines dating back to 1833 only helped. Three years later, when the UAE was formed, he was the natural choice for Minister of Defence and consequently, the youngest in the world. The world would test his mettle barely a year later, when he was thrown into the trappings of an Arab-Israeli war, an attempted coup in a neighbouring state and an aircraft hijacking at Dubai International Airport. And in this span of five years, in the midst of all this turmoil, he still found time to build a national Union Defence Force. Such has been his leadership and perseverance. However, the achievements he is most recognised and admired for today came a year later, when the administration of Dubai International Airport and the responsibility for Dubai's oil was handed to him on August 25, 1977. Today, we talk of eight million tourists and a diversified economy that has an insignificant dependence on oil revenues. Three decades ago, oil was its most important export and revenue earner and tourism miniscule. The interchange, quite simply, is the change he has brought. It is a tough task summarising what Dubai has achieved in such a short span of time. Imagine a desert with a sprinkling of people. Now look around. Sheikh Mohammed addressed it best, when he told journalists earlier this year: "Do you know how we used to live before? Do you have any idea about the state of education and illiteracy, infrastructure and public services? Do you know the details of our society's infrastructure and how it was developed? "Today, after the tremendous achievements in various fields, our people have full confidence in the process of empowerment – empowerment of the economy, women, the administration, and culture as well as political empowerment within our traditions and culture," he said. An East-West bridge It is evident the intention was never to indulge in the hyperbole. It was to create a non-political, globally successful Arab city that could harmoniously and profitably bridge the East and the West. The underlying task? To deliver a model where capitalism and a much-misunderstood culture can exist together in tolerance, understanding and peace. "We are not growing in order to be a model for its highest building in the world, best airport, and most luxurious hotel, and the largest seaport and man-made islands," he told the media in April. "These landmarks and features are unique and famous all over the world. But the Dubai model is beyond that. Dubai is an Arab city with scarce natural resources but with a clear vision of comprehensive development and social needs. It is a city that succeeded through its investments in human resources, its unique geographical location, and its trade expertise. "This has enabled us to achieve unmatched growth and become the focal connection between the East and West. Dubai has proved as well the possibility of coexistence of different cultures in an open and tolerant Arab Islamic en