During 364 days each year, our dear homeland the United Arab Emirates bestows its care upon us and provides us with superior service and with all the means of well-being and happiness. Then comes the three hundred sixty fifth day to be an opportunity to give back a very small part of the bounty of our homeland, and to express our deep love and loyalty to it. This is why I consider the second of December to be the day of loyalty to the homeland. It is the National day and an occasion dear to our hearts, which evokes the construction of the State of the Union by the founding fathers, led by the late his Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, God rest his soul.
When I intended to record my feelings with my humble pen in this precious national occasion, and after a period of reflection, I realized I could not succeed in giving this dear homeland its due and in expressing my feelings towards our wise leadership, led by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, may God protect him, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister, may God protect him, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme commander of the armed forces, may God protect him, and their fellow rulers of the Emirates, may God protect them all. So I chose to write about some of the achievements of a year ago, in order to be close to the facts on the ground, and so as the dear readers become aware of the developmental experience of the UAE, and the ambitions this country aspires to, which makes the celebration of National Day a valuable quality and a station deserved by both this beloved country and our loyal people.
At the level of achievements in 2016, I commend in particular investing in people, as a real translation of the faith of our wise leadership in that the human being is the real wealth in the UAE, and that the investment in the human being is the best investment possible. In this context came several initiatives in the past year. They are not limited to evolving government services in health, education, housing and traffic areas only, but also extend to include the development of enabling policies and the opening of the horizons of creativity and innovation for citizens. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, May Allah protect him, launched in October 2016 “The national agenda for the Youth”; a unique initiative, reflecting the extraordinary interest on the part of the state in this important age group for the development in our dear country. “The national agenda for the youth” includes a lot of ideas and goals that aim at enabling young people, and at developing their skills and abilities in various fields. The initiative aims to launch a lot of specialized centers for the youth such as the youth center for creativity and the youth center for the media, and the youth center for culture. Those steps ensure the leadership’s awareness of the role of the youth and the inevitability of benefiting from it, especially that our young people have proven they have a strongly rooted sense of national awareness. They sense the magnitude of the challenges facing our state and stand as a strong supporter to the wise leadership, expressing in each national occasion their extreme loyalty to it.
This year also witnessed outstanding achievements at the strategic planning level, as the formation of the government of the future, headed by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, may Allah protect him, under Federal Decree No. (28) for the year 2016. The ministries of tolerance and happiness were created, in a global pioneer initiative to “institutionalize” the official efforts to provide the highest social welfare levels to deserving classes and better health and education services and the development of basic infrastructure. This initiative also aims to “institutionalize” the culture of tolerance and to turn it into a formal framework for the efforts of the state in all sectors. It is a wonderful goal that will yield its fruits in the foreseeable future, will contribute to deepen this culture in our society, stimulate other communities to follow the example of the UAE, and promote this culture in the surrounding environment both regionally and internationally.
The end of a year in the life of this nation saw the inauguration of the memorial of the martyrs in the city of Abu Dhabi, in conjunction with the celebration of the Day of the Martyr, at the kind initiative of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, to best perpetuate the memory of the honorable martyrs of the homeland, and so that their sacrifices remain fresh in the minds and hearts of the people of the country, in a move symbolizing the glorious pages of the history of our beloved country, written by the martyrs of the homeland from the different emirates.
Our homeland is one of achievements, one which is only satisfied by being number one. A homeland worthy of the aspirations of the wise leadership and the citizens, who demonstrate on each occasion the depth of their loyalty and belonging to this good land. Our righteous martyrs who gave their blood and lives for the UAE in the arena of right and duty, pride and glory, are the best proof of the status of the Emirates in the hearts of its sons. It is the blood running in our veins, the nation and the land and the house, the roof that protects us and the flag that shields us, and we are proud to defend it.
On the day of the nation, the day of loyalty … may our dear State and our wise leadership be well, and may the people of the UAE live in progress and prosperity, love and harmony, and may the house be unified and our hearts united in the love of this good land.
