(MENAFN - Emirates News Agency (WAM))

DUBAI, 16th November, 2017 (WAM) -- Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority, RTA, said that the UAE has become a global model for tolerance and co-existence of people, thanks to the leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

The country has become a hospitable place for more than 200 nationalities. The applicable rules of the UAE uphold the values of justice, respect and equality for all, and incriminate hatred and intolerance practices as well as the causes of division and differences, Al Tayer said.

He further commended His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid's initiative naming the most beautiful pedestrian bridge in Dubai as the Bridge of Tolerance. The bridge, which links the two sides of the Dubai Water Canal, is one of the prominent tourist landmarks in Dubai and a destination for visitors from within the UAE and far afield.

Al Tayer also hailed the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for World Peace, which is firmly based on the tolerant Islamic tenets. In 2016, the UAE announced a Minister of Tolerance to support its stance advocating the principles of tolerance, diversity and the acceptance of others with different intellectual, cultural, sectoral and religious backgrounds, he added.

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