UAE President looks to the future with hope and optimism in his first National Day address

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan gave his first National Day address as the leader of the nation, saying the 51st UAE National Day is a day to recall lessons of the past, and look at the present with awareness and contemplation while looking to the future with hope, optimism and confidence, the state news agency WAM reported.

The president said that taking care of “our citizens and opening up all avenues of development, creativity and self-affirmation before them has been, and will always remain our top priority and we will spare no effort to achieve this goal”.

He added that UAE will remain a key partner and supporter of everything that brings about progress and development for humanity, and enhance the world’s ability to meet its challenges, foremost of which are climate change, food security, diseases, epidemics and poverty.

The following is the full text of his speech, as published by WAM

“The National Day is an occasion for pride and joy. It is also an opportunity to recharge energies, find fresh determination and resolve, and renew the covenant with the soul and the homeland of every Emirati to preserve our achievements. These have turned into a symbol and model for rejuvenation in the region and a source of hope for a prosperous future for its people.

The UAE is a great and precious trust handed down to us by our fathers and grandfathers. We will hand it over to our sons and grandchildren who will carry the flag after us to continue the march and build on what we built, just as we built on the solid foundations and pillars that our ancestors left us. Our responsibility before the nation, history and future generations is to preserve this trust with all the strength, effort and determination that God has bestowed upon us.

On this glorious day, we remember with all reverence the late leader of the empowerment phase, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who passed away this year. He left in our hearts, and the hearts of those who loved him across the world, the cherished memory of his good journey after he placed indelible imprints on every inch of our good land. He was by the side of the late founder Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan at every step in building the UAE and strengthening its pillars.

May God have mercy on Sheikh Khalifa and Sheikh Zayed and their brothers, the founding leaders, and reward them with the best for what they have done for this country and its people. Their efforts will remain a beacon and a source of inspiration for generation after generation. When we reflect on the progress, pride and grace we enjoy today, we realise the magnitude of what the great founders did on December 2, 1971, and the value of unity that we all enjoy today. Our love for them grows, in appreciation for what they have done and in our determination to continue along their path.

During the past 50 years, our country has gone through many stages in its triumphal journey from “establishment” to “empowerment”, each stage with its goals, facets and mechanisms of action.

God willing, the UAE will continue its steadfast approach of construction and development, of consolidating gains and raising its ambitions to make a great development leap. The UAE will continue to focus on science and technology and capitalise on opportunities in these areas so that current and future generations can benefit. It is working to achieve the maximum investment of our most valuable material, our people, and moral resources, and the best interests of our people, deepening the partnership between the public and private sectors.

The UAE is meticulously defining development priorities and making a qualitative leap in the outputs of the educational process by upgrading education as our main way to achieve all our goals and ambitions. It is diversifying sources of income, building a knowledge-based economy, and engaging in worldwide development competition.

In order to achieve all that we aspire to, the main focus of the next stage must be doubling the effort and giving, as well as raising the value of work, efficiency and dedication to one’s duty. Brothers and sisters, the next stage is one of work, perseverance, achievement and competition, and there is no room for complacency, because great ambitions require even greater determination.

The UAE is fully aware of the nature of the transformations around it, and the challenges and opportunities it enjoys. We are working to exploit these opportunities and deal with challenges with a clear, effective and comprehensive approach. We depend on our resources, our capabilities and our children’s bodies and minds. We cooperate sincerely and positively with our friends and brothers. And we move carefully to maximise our national interests. We are strengthening our economic, commercial and investment partnerships with various countries to serve our development goals. We adopt balanced and responsible policies in the regional and international arenas.

Taking care of our citizens and opening up all avenues of development, creativity and self-affirmation before them has been, and will always remain our top priority and we will spare no effort to achieve this goal. We will continue to develop and implement plans that revolve around empowering citizens and expanding the opportunities available to them in all fields without exception, because empowerment is not an interim policy with a specific time frame, but, rather, an ongoing and sustainable approach.

At the heart of this, the youth enjoy exceptional interest in our vision for the present and future of our country, because they represent a creative energy for bringing about development and progress, and they have proven their worth in all fields of national action during the past years. We rely on them to achieve our major development goals during the coming decades.

During the next stage, the role of Emirati women will be strengthened in all fields. No society can advance to the level it aspires to without the participation of women.

During the next stage, reliance on educated and qualified youth will become entrenched as they are the most important elements of national wealth and the main factor in ensuring progress towards the future. At the same time, our country will continue to attract talents, competencies and bright minds from all over the world, and welcome every hand that builds and innovates, to contribute to our development process and to work and live on our land in dignity, tolerance and love.

Despite the adverse consequences of Covid-19 and other regional and global crises, including an economic downturn, the UAE economy – thanks to God and to the sincere efforts of the government led by my brother, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai – has progressed rapidly. Our indicators of global competitiveness, the strength of influence, economic growth, optimism for the future and others have improved from what they were before the pandemic, according to reports by specialised international institutions. This s a unique achievement by all standards because this came about in an adverse global environment.

This reinforces the status of the “Emirati exception” not only in the region, but in the whole world, due to the strength of the foundations on which the state was built, its comprehensive vision for the future, its efficiency in dealing with crises of all kinds, and directing its resources optimally to achieve sustainable development for current and future generations.

The UAE will continue to work on investing all available opportunities to support economic sectors of strategic importance to its national security, foremost of which are industry, technology, food security, renewable energy, and health, among others. These are sectors that recent global developments have shown the need to give priority to in planning for the present and the future.

The UAE will remain a key partner and supporter of everything that brings about progress and development for humanity, and enhances the world’s ability to meet its challenges, foremost of which are climate change, food security, diseases, epidemics and poverty, among others.

In this context, the UAE will invest in the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 28), which it will host next year, to give a strong impetus to collective international action to protect the planet and to address climate risks that have become visible to everyone across the world.

The UAE will continue its sustainable role in order to consolidate peace and stability, and work to resolve disputes and conflicts, regardless of their type, location and degree of complexity, through diplomatic means. It will move in every direction to enhance opportunities for understanding and dialogue on the regional and international arenas, and will call for tolerance, moderation and rejection of extremism and intolerance.

Since assuming its position in the UN Security Council at the start of 2022, the UAE has embodied, through its stances and initiatives, the aspirations of the people of the whole world towards cooperation, peace and development. It will continue its positive role during the remainder of the council’s membership so as to leave a prominent Emirati-Arab imprint in one of the most important institutions of international collective action during one of the most difficult stages in history.

In light of rapid regional and international changes, the UAE realises the importance of strengthening Arab-Arab partnerships for the benefit of the Arab people, and contributes to investing Arab resources and capabilities for a development that benefits all.

Recent transformations across the world have emphasised the importance of strengthening all aspects of regional cooperation between countries belonging to a particular region or geographical area, as is the case for the Arab countries in general or the Gulf Cooperation Council states in particular. Our countries possess a potential for convergence and integration that may not be available to other nations in other regions.

The UAE, in cooperation with its brothers, is working to promote Arab integration on new foundations that are effective and realistic, based on common interests, stemming from economic and development cooperation, and aiming, in the first place, at the prosperity and development of people.

Today, we recall the sacrifices of our righteous martyrs in all locations and times, and we pray for them, for the ultimate sacrifice they made in defence of the UAE, its values and principles, which embody the sacrifices of our people throughout history, which established the pillars of our dear homeland based on pride, glory and invincibility.

On this dear occasion, I reiterate that our armed forces have been, and will always remain, the strong fortress of the nation, its protective shield, and the school of deeply rooted national values and principles through the ages, and its development and modernisation will remain a top priority as it has always been.

We also salute our security forces that are vigilant about the security of the homeland, the safety of society, the protection of citizens and residents, and the provision of appropriate conditions for work, development and progress. We thank their members for their great effort, sincerity and professionalism in the performance of duty.

On this cherished day, I congratulate my brother UAE Rulers and Crown Princes, and I pray to God to preserve our country, perpetuate its unity, harmony and love, and to keep it always as a symbol of progress, renaissance and pride. Happy National Day!”