UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said 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.

 

“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,” His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed said in his message on the 51st UAE National Day.

 

The UAE celebrates its National Day on December 2.

 

He said 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 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," he said.

 

"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," he conitnued.

 

"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.

 

"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," he addded.

 

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.

 

"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," he said.

 

"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, 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 on the regional and international arenas," he said.