The President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, affirmed on Sunday the provision of full support for vital development projects especially in tourism, trade and sports sectors, that leverage the UAE profile regionally and internationally.
The President made his statement while attending the second edition of the F1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix which was staged at Yas Marina Circuit in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and a group of VVIP guests including the King of Spain Juan Carlos I; President of Seychelles James A Michael; President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov; Prince of Monaco Prince Albert II; Crown Prince of Bahrain Prince Salman bin Hamad; Prime Minister of Lebanon Saad Al Hariri; Prime Minister of Swaziland Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini; Former French Prime Minister Jean Pierre Rafarin; Special Advisor to the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al Thani; Belarus President's son Victor Lukashenko and Egyptian President's son Gamal Mohamed Husni Mubarak.
Sheikh Khalifa welcomed the state guests who had arrived to watch the major global sporting event and wished them a pleasant stay, adding that the event creates an ideal opportunity to further bolster good relations with sisterly and friendly countries.
Sheikh Khalifa said he was impressed with the world civilisational scene he saw on the UAE land where Abu Dhabi is hosting the top international motor race, a trend through which the UAE is mobilising all its resources and energies to serve the UAE people and boost the country's drive to join ranks of advanced nations.
"Sport is one of the most crucial sectors on which the state's strategy is focusing on to promote tourism and deliver the highest rates of growth through optimum investment of development projects of international dimension in order to position the UAE as one of most attractive destinations at the regional and international tourism map, the President added.
He indicated that the Yas Marina Circuit, which made waves last year after its hosted the first cycle of F1, has become one of the major milestones in the international exciting sports especially after "the overwhelming participation and unprecedented enthusiasm we witnessed today which amounts to an international sport festival that is added to the spectacular successes the UAE is achieving confidently at the international level."
Sheikh Khalifa said the mega tourism and cultural projects the UAE is building today on the Saadiyat and Yas Islands "are among the most valuable investment and embody the State's policies towards diversification of economic activities through creating opportunities for joint investment partnership and cooperation with major international companies in various sectors."
Crown Prince of Dubai Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum; Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum; Ruler's Representative in the Eastern Region Sheikh Tahnoun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Lt General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and a number of Sheikhs, senior state officials and a large number of spectators from around the world also attended the race.