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ABU DHABI: His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, has said that Dec.2 is a day that will be remembered forever; a day that witnessed the establishment of a country that would become, within just a few decades, a model of successful state building and a fine example of a united and cohesive nation.
In a statement to Nation Shield magazine on the occasion of the UAE’s 46th National Day, Sheikh Mohamed added that the UAE has become a source of inspiration for states that seek unity, progress and excellence and for states that aspire to overcome challenges and step confidently into the future. In that, he said, the UAE truly serves as a role model not only for the region’s countries, but for the rest of the world.
Below is the full text of the statement.
“Brothers and Sister, some days in the history of nations are remembered forever - and Dec.2 is such a day in the history of the United Arab Emirates. This is a day that is associated with a fond memory that lives deep in the heart and mind of each and every single UAE citizen - it is the day that witnessed the founding of our beloved country; it is the day that saw the establishment of a country that would become, within the space of just a few decades, a model of successful state building and a fine example of the united and cohesive nation. Indeed, the UAE has become a source of inspiration for states that seek unity, progress and excellence and for states that aspire to overcome challenges and step confidently into the future. In that, the UAE, truly, serves as a role model not only for the region’s countries, but for the rest of the world.
As we celebrate this glorious day, we remember, with our hearts filled with pride and appreciation, the Nation’s Founder, the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and his brothers the Founding Fathers, who, together, built a great nation, a nation that is based on universal values. It is upon the strong foundations that our Founding Fathers laid that our country developed and will keep prospering.
NATIONAL VALUES
Brothers and Sisters, we should celebrate the 46th National Day by reflecting on the experience of our Founding Fathers, who, collectively, provide us with a wealth of knowledge that we should learn from. We should learn from them how to sharpen our sense of belonging to our homeland, how to work together so that our country remains strong and united, how to work together to keep our country safe and stable, how to provide for our people the means of a prosperous life, how to plant the values of loyalty to our country and people in everyone’s heart, how to teach our people that our own lives are of little value when it comes to defending the integrity of our nation.
The 2nd of December visits us every year to remind us of our national values, which teach us that sacrifice for the sake of our country and work for the sake of its progress should be the highest and noblest of goals that we should all strive to reach. This day should fuel all of us with an inexhaustible energy to do more and to work harder to preserve our national heritage that was bequeathed to us by the Founding Fathers; to do more to keep the UAE a beacon of unity and strength and a center of charity and unconditional giving that extends to the entire human race.
As we mark the 46th Anniversary of the founding of our nation, we also remember the great achievements of the late Sheikh Zayed and his brothers, the Rulers of the Emirates. We remember their historic role in creating and strengthening our union. This year, we have the more reason to rejoice because our celebrations coincide with an initiative by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan that has declared 2018 as the “Year of Zayed” to mark 100 years since the birth of the country’s founder. Truly, Sheikh Zayed is celebrated as a universal symbol of charity and unlimited giving and global proponent of peaceful coexistence among all nations.
Brothers and sisters, on this auspicious occasion, we renew our pledge that we will stay on the path that was first trodden by Zayed and his brothers - the founding fathers - and that we will save no effort to foster and strengthen our unity and cohesiveness. As we renew this solemn pledge, we realise that our unity is the source of our strength in the face of adversities, that our unity is the point from which we move into building and growing our nation, that our unity is the most important guarantee that we have to maintain the state of security and stability that our country has enjoyed for decades. Maintaining this stability is more pressing than ever as nation states, in many parts of the world, face challenges to their very existence.
We will work together so that our country remain united, as it has always been; we will work together to keep it as a symbol, as a role model of the successful federal state not only in our region but across the globe. We will do this by developing its different institutions and enhancing the work of the government so that it to keep up to date with the requirements of development. This is the path that our country will take so that it remains young and prosperous, so that its people enjoy a life of peace and prosperity, so that we keep our country in the vanguard of great nations.
WAM
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