The President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, said the country’s 51st National Day was an opportunity to look to the future with hope, optimism and confidence, to remember the lessons of the past and to look at the present with consciousness and contemplation.
“Caring for our citizens and opening up all avenues for development, creativity and self-affirmation has been, and will always remain, our top priority and we will spare no effort to achieve this goal,” he said. he said in a speech, state news agency WAM reported Thursday.
He went on to assure that the UAE will remain a key partner and supporter in all that brings progress and development for humanity, and strengthens the world’s ability to meet its challenges, chief among which are climate change, food security, diseases, epidemics and poverty.
“National Day is an occasion filled with pride and joy. It is also an opportunity to recharge and look to the year ahead with a renewed sense of vision and determination.
“Brothers and sisters, the United Arab Emirates is precious to us all – a nation formed by our founding fathers and its legacy continues through all of us and the generations to come who will carry the flag forward. Our responsibility to the nation and to our past and future generations is to preserve this beloved country with all the strength, effort and determination that God has bestowed on us.
Sheikh Mohamed also paid tribute to the late President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who died in May.
“He left in our hearts, and in the hearts of many people around the world, the cherished memory of his good trip, having left indelible footprints on every corner of the United Arab Emirates. He was with the late founder Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan every step of the way to build the United Arab Emirates we all know today.
He said the past 50 years of the UAE has seen the country go through many stages in its triumphant journey from establishment to empowerment, each stage with its goals, facets and mechanisms of action.
