Marking 48 years of its life, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is now the only successful Arab unity experience thanks to the efforts of late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the official newspaper Alittihad said on Tuesday.
It was just a dream and it finally came true because of the two leaders’ strenuous efforts and determination, the paper said in a front-page editorial.
Uniting the 7 Trucial States on the Gulf was a permanent ambition of “our ancestors” for many decades but the project was hindered by untoward political circumstances that had prevailed over the region during that period, the paper said.
“But our leaders’ endeavors did not stop and they pursued their efforts to achieve the grand dream until it materialized on Dec 1971 and they managed to win against all odds and bets during a period when many Arab unity experiments faltered.
“Today we celebrate a dream that has come true despite the difficulties that had faced it…in its 48th birthday, the UAE has become the first and only successful Arab integration experience…we have reached development levels of international standards and completed one of the most successful and largest infrastructure drive in the world…we are no longer a mere developing nation in the region because we are now breaking all development data dominated by the advanced countries.
“Today as we mark this grand and glorious occasion, we will always remember our founding fathers and will continue the march they started…they will always inspire us to push ahead with our development and prosperity to build strong bridges towards a bright future for our nation with confidence and hope.”
