I was confident we would overcome it [economic crisis]: Mohammed

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has said that our aim is creating hope, life and future in addition to making people happy.

Addressing the participants of the 2nd Government Summit, which concluded today in Madinat Jumeirah, Sheikh Mohammed thanked the Arab and foreign ministers and officials who participated in Summit saying, "I would like to thank all guests of the UAE, who took part in the Summit".

"It is the summit of industrious and diligent people, I am happy that our country is gifted with the quality of teamwork, which is the best, since its employees are leaders, our aim is creating hope, life and future in addition to making people happy."  

The VP said that one of the ministers from GCC countries asked me why I say making people happy and not making people satisfied?

I answered that, "Satisfaction represents a short period of time but happiness lasts more or is semi-permanent, this is similar to victory, because the victory is temporary but excellence is eternal." 

He concluded his statement by expressing his happiness over the success of the Government Summit among the applause of the audience.

Earlier, Sheikh Mohammed along with Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, attended the concluding session.

Addressing the Summit through a TV screen, HH Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ajman, said: "We are part of the strategy and vision of the UAE led by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan."

"Late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Founder of our modern country, had the biggest role in achieving welfare and decent life for his people," he added.

Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Crown Prince of Ajman also spoke about the strategy of Ajman 2021, which has been set within the UAE Vision 2021 in order to be a main contributor in the march of sustainable development, and in a way which translates the wise directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and HH Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ajman.

Sheikh Ammar announced that Ajman Strategic logo "2021 A happy society", which contributes to building green economy, spurred by a distinguished government in line with the spirit of the Union.

Ajman Crown Prince said: “Emirate's strategy is based on our inherent values, which have been founded by the late Sheikh Zayed, Sheikh Rashid and the founding fathers, to enhance citizens' confidence on themselves and encourage them to give the interest of the homeland as a top priority in order to make the UAE as a country in which the citizen unifies with the land.”

He also affirmed that "Ajman 2021" was not only a choice but an approach that we have a commitment to success. We got the inspiration from the keenness of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the homeland and citizens, and the great ambition that we have learned from Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on how to turn dreams into reality."

Among those who attended the session were Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Lt. General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Deputy Chairman of Police and General Security in Dubai, Lt. General Misbah bin Rashid AI Fattan, Director of the Office of the Vice-President, a number of Sheikhs, ministers, top officials, university students and guests.

Mohammed bin Rashid honours 2nd Government Summit's partners

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in the presence of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, honoured partners of the 2nd Government Summit, which concluded today at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai.

He honoured the partners who had a pioneering role in hosting and helping guests of the Summit from all over the world and harnessed all potentials in order to secure comfort and facilitations for them and for the success of the summit.

The Vice President thanked the sponsors and partners for their collaboration with the Summit's Higher Committee and for their significant contribution to making the event successful, in addition to providing the necessary facilitations to the participants.

He also hoped that they would continue cooperating in the national and international occasions and events, that will be held in the country in order to achieve cooperation and coordination between private and government sectors, as well as activating social partnership.

Among those who were in attendance include Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Gargawi, Minister for Cabinet Affairs, Lt. General Misbah bin Rashid AI Fattan, Director of the Office of the Vice-President and other senior officials.

Mohammed bin Rashid meets mediapersons

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum yesterday said the security and safety are solid foundations for the stability, development and safeguarding of the national gains.

Addressing the gathering organised by Dubai Government Media Office, Sheikh Mohammed told the journalists that "Construction is easier than developing human resources. We thank God that we have managed in the UAE to develop the human resource capabilities through continuous training and hard work in the light of clear vision and directives from the leadership".

Dubai Government Media Office organised the event that brought together Sheikh Mohammed and the journalists and mediapersons who participated in the 2nd Government Summit, which concluded today in Jumeirah city, Dubai.

Held at Mina Al Salam hotel, the meeting was attended by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Gargawi, Minister for Cabinet Affairs, Lt. General Musbeh bin Rashid Al Fattan, Director of office of Vice-President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Qamzi, Khalifa Saeed Suleiman, Director General of the Department of Protocol and Hospitality in Dubai, Muna Ghanem Al Marri, Director General of Dubai Government Media Office and a number of Arab ministers who partook in the event.

Sheikh Mohammed and the audience exchanged views on a number of development, women issues in the UAE and the region, as well as the political developments in the Arab world. The journalist referred to huge achievements attained by Dubai in particular and the UAE in general. They cited Al Maktoum International Airport and expansions at Dubai International Airport, which has become one of the world's largest airports.

"I'm a leader but cannot achieve all these achievements without team work with one spirit to achieve the set goals. I present my vision to the team to implement and succeed to make people happy across our beloved country," said His Highness.

Sheikh Mohammed said the elements of security and safety are solid foundations for stability, development and safeguarding of the national gains... and the role of the founding fathers whom we would not forget for they had established a solid base to build on.

He recalled the world economic crisis, which he named, "Day for Great Challenge", noting that the journalists used to ask him "What next". "I told them do not judge things on face value and current analysis. I judge through my experiences and future vision. All were surprised that the world economic crisis did not affect me because I was confident that we would overcome it. We tackled the challenges with determination and faith in God".

Regarding the GCC, Sheikh Mohammed said the GCC is on the right track and there is coordination among the member states in all fields to achieve the aspirations of the GCC peoples. "I would like to assure you that we will reach a happy end regarding the GCC as we did in the UAE, whose Union is solid."

About the situation in some Arab countries, Sheikh Mohammed said the UAE had been supporting Egypt during the era of late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, when Egypt signed a peace deal with Israel. "And today President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and myself support Egypt, which represents the heart of Arab Ummah (Nation) so as to restore security, stability and achieve the economic development for the people of Egypt."

At the conclusion, the journalists appreciated the idea of holding the Government Summit periodically, describing it as "an intellectual, technological, economic, cultural platform that brings together experts, scientists, decision makers at Arab and world levels."

Mansour bin Zayed: Work in private sector is a strategic choice

Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, has affirmed that "the UAE supports all outstanding citizens and supports their academic and creative projects both within the country and abroad."

Sheikh Mansour made these remarks when he met with 100 outstanding students on the sidelines of the 2nd Government Summit held in Dubai to which they were invited at the request of Sheikh Mansour out of his keen interest to urge citizens to a bright future and engage students in national programmes as they are the leaders of the future generation, who are preparing to enter the labour market.

The meeting was attended by Hamad bin Abdulrahman Al Madfaa, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council Affairs of the Federation at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, Dr. Ali Rashid Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Vice Chancellor of UAEU, Dr. Tayeb Kamali, Vice Chancellor of The Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), Under-Secretaries of Sectors in the Ministry of Presidential Affairs and a number of senior officials in the educational field.

Sheikh Mansour talked to students about the most important issues of concern to young people, including the value of work in UAE society in the past and present, and the contribution of educated young citizens in building the nation, as well as the directives of the wise leadership and the government's efforts to provide a decent life for citizens.

Sheikh Mansour said that the UAE headed by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, invests in human development through adopting the best curricula and establishing partnerships with the most outstanding global universities in order to provide citizens with information and skills that will enable them to enter the job market with confidence and make them creative elements raising initiatives, ideas and thoughts.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Sheikh Mansour said, " My dear brother students, I would like to emphasise that the private sector is a strategic choice for the recruitment of citizens - not only in the UAE, but also in all countries of the world, and the report of jobs issued by the International Bank indicates that the private sector is the main engine of job creation and employment opportunities in all countries of the world."

Sheikh Mansour asked the students to be ambassadors of their country, to cling to national identity in the workplace which is teeming with different cultures, abroad or in the country, wishing permanent excellence for all students.

For their part, the students expressed their happiness to meet Sheikh Mansour, stressing that the meeting reflected the cohesion between the wise leadership and the sons of the nation, saying that the meeting had a special place in their spirits and also made a great impact on their scientific and practical life, urging them to exert more effort to achieve success and elevate the name of their beloved country.

Mansour launches official portal for benefits provided to citizens

Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, yesterday launched the official on-line portal for benefits and services provided to citizens, emirati.gov.ae, in two versions for the web and mobile phones, in addition to the smartphone app, Emirati, on the sidelines of the Government Summit.

Sheikh Mansour stressed that the launch of the website embodies the vision of UAE's wise leadership that puts the citizen at the top of its priorities and a representation of the slogan: "Citizen First" which the government is working on achieving through the UAE Vision 2021.

"Our wise leadership is keen to provide the best services to its citizens who have demonstrated consistently that they are worthy of this attention, showing their love for the homeland and loyalty to their leadership and are ready to exert every possible effort for the elevation of the UAE," added Sheikh Mansour.

The website and application were designed to provide information on benefits, grants and services provided exclusively by the United Arab Emirates to its citizens and to provide sophisticated search help to find the information and services .

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