UAE: a success story that combines human genius with the feature of location

The progress of peoples , advancement and development is measured by its ability to the comprehensive cultural act , and its ability to change human reality and his progress as well as the accumulation of wealth, which is a necessary means to carry out development projects, and to show achievements on the ground. In modern Emirati experience, we can talk about a cultural substantial change , based on many theoretical and practical foundations . The UAE’s experience can be described as extraordinary situation in the Arab world, because there are many evidences proving that cultural change is not just ideas to raise ,no slogans are used here and there , but it is essentially a human change, who is the symbolic capital to any great civilization project. Here it can be read the UAE example, among the major trends of the people who they really want to be woven into a special way of its own, and to impose itself between living communities.
The developmental experience that prevailed in the United Arab Emirates is based on a series of foundations that give to this experiment its own characteristics, since the founding of the state by the late, God willing, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Emirates proceeded to give its developmental experience of inclusive character , where not focus on developing certain aspects without the other, which is keeping the development process its balance . The question in this context, how is started the success story of the UAE ?
The UAE was a hot desert area , small densely populated . .. and it has only a few sources of natural wealth , the most important of it is the inshore khiran which timidly attracted little housing communities that old mud houses included a small number of people of the UAE with good intelligence and ambition .. and they had a long history of trade and their patience qualified them amid the harsh environment to take hold of the profession of diving and trading of pearls in the Gulf region.
UAE were not owned at the time of any economic base .. to be mentioned where only rudimentary levels of health care and education are available .. and on this way .. United Arab Emirates went on in the past and the state of ancient mud huts , overlooking on alkhiran were remained unchanged until the discovery of oil in the beginning of the second half of the last century and even after the discovery of oil .. it was extracted in small quantities which are not comparable to those in neighboring countries ..however the UAE was booming because God endowed it with oil and the national founder and commander who is the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan ” may God have mercy upon him “.. noting that the boom in his era ,prevailed in the United Arab Emirates , was not at the local level only .. but it had become a key player in the region and international events .. and it was become an economic center for the a re-export operations in the Middle East and the Indian sub-continent .. so the shallow static khiran were turned to large commercial workshops full of movement and activity day and night .. and those simple khiran ponds for fishing until it has become today one of the largest international ports without a competitor such as Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi and Jebel Ali port in Dubai .. and became the third largest port operator in the world following the victory of ” global Dubai ” with a number of deals of running the largest ports in the world .. and Emirates enjoyed with active bond market and another promising real estate .. for example, the Dar properties Co. and tourist development & investment company , houses and Reem company for development and construction are considered by recent reports of the largest real estate developers in the world .
The giant construction projects within the State and its features appeared today in the capital, “Abu Dhabi” clearly as a Reem Island and the island of Maria and the Al Raha Beach and the Yas island and the Saadiyat Island and in the city of Dubai as the Palm island and Burj Al Arab (tower) and Burj Khalifa (tower ).. as it has become a model to be imitated and draw the eyes and tightens attention to what is happening in this part of the world that is undergoing profound shifts in the geography and the nature of the place, which was mostly a shifting sands by wind direction .. and it was turned today for one of the world’s best cities.
The starting point was an epic of its leader, Sheikh Zayed, who employed all the means available to achieve the renaissance of the country and its progress .. . thus it is not strange from him to provide these capabilities that he is the owner of the famous quote: “The science is the only way for the revival and progress and meet the challenges of the age and the service for the development in the under developing countries .. noting that the Emirates state is keen to participate in word and deed in support of the development strategy and transfer technology to the third world countries. “.
In the recent past , the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan ,Allah have mercy on him, ordered to receive experts from all countries of the world to participate in the planning and construction of the modern state .. and today , the people of the UAE learnt the lesson quickly and began fighting field trials that the world see them with admiration as they stand in the huge construction sites and on giant development projects in the sisterly and friendly countries who are planning and directing the people of those countries reflecting the image of the near past and the leadership of the United Arab Emirates does not hesitate to participate and contribute to the planning and development of poor and developing countries.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, inherited the success in the era of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Allah , mercy upon him, and worked to enhance it in all aspects . As the uniqueness of the UAE and its distinguishing character stems from their guidance that features of insightful vision in business and have the basic motivation for it .
the United Arab Emirates , with their directions , has made leaps of development by virtue of the political, security and social stability and the basic advanced infrastructure that were performed by it and by the economic and financial strategies pursued and which are based on economic freedom and the promotion of investments and to diversify sources of national income in achieving economic development in the various productive sectors.
Where the UAE’s gross domestic product rose by about 236-fold from 6.5 billion dirhams only when the Union was established in 1971 to reach 1.54 trillion dirhams in 2014, the IMF predicted that the GDP rise in 2018 to 1.7 trillion dirhams, due this tremendous development in the high local output levels to several factors, most notably are : the steady growth of the overall economic activities of the non-oil sectors in the framework of the policy of the United Arab Emirates to diversify the national economy and not rely on oil as the sole source of income.
And on foreign trade level , the United Arab Emirates has achieved remarkable developments as a result of a number of positive legislation in various economic sectors, including the policy of openness in its trade with the new areas, amounting to about 200 markets around the world and the development of airport infrastructure which has reinforced the strategic location of the UAE on the world Trade map . And foreign trade amounted to during the first half of 2014 , with a total value amounted to 524.8 billion dirhams compared to 557.9 billion dirhams in the same period of 2013, a decrease of 33.1 billion dirhams and by up to 6 percent.
The trade exchange with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has its importance, where Saudi Arabia came in first place of the total of order of merchandise trade values ​​of non-oil and with a total value of $ 17.4 billion dirhams during the first half of 2014 compared to 19.7 billion dirhams during the same period in 2013 and by decline in the amount of 11.7 percent, followed in second place is the Sultanate of Oman, where trade exchange amounted to $ 13.2 billion dirhams during the first half of 2014 compared to 13.8 billion dirhams during the same period in 2013, a drop of $ 4.3 percent and they were followed by the order each of Kuwait and Qatar and Bahrain, worth 7.2 billion dirhams and 6.4 and 4.3 billion dirhams respectively during the first half of 2014. The total of direct non-oil trade of the United Arab Emirates worth 524.7 billion dirhams while the total of free trade zones in the UAE amounted to 269.6 billion dirhams during the first half of the year 2014.
As for foreign investments the United Arab Emirates is topping the Middle East and North Africa in the foreign direct investment directed to the outside during the period from 2006 until the end of 2013, which amounted to about 223 billion dirhams. And attracted until the end of 2013, foreign direct investment worth $ 105.5 billion to occupy the second rank among Arab countries , among the most attractive countries for foreign capital in the report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development “UNCTAD” World Investment, also the UAE was ranked , according to this report , that it is among the top 30 attractive worldwidelocations for foreign direct investment . And the UAE managed to achieve advanced positions at the World Trade Report of 2015 issued by the World Trade Organization, where the organization announced international results during a press conference held by FAO Director-General Roberto Azevedo in the city of Geneva for the release of the organization’s report on global trade trends in 2015 . and the UAE has maintained its developed position on global trade map and occupied in the 16th position of the list of commodity exporting countries and remained maintaining to its position as the most important market for exports of the commodity in the Middle East and Africa countries.
In the field of tourism , the travel and tourism sector has witnessed during the reign of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, major developments that reinforced its position on the map of World Tourism and occupied the first place globally in a competitive travel and tourism sector within the six indicators covered by the report of the World economic Forum for 2013, and most notably is the sustainable development of the travel and tourism sector and the effectiveness of tourism promotion, security and stability and the development of infrastructure, particularly international airports and air transportation companies and the national airline companies and the support services where ranked eighth in the world and in the Middle Eastern countries ranked first on the list of the most developed states in the tourism sector and Aviation in accordance with the global competitiveness report for travel and tourism in 2013.
the UAE ranked ninth in tourism investment on the World Travel and Tourism Council, which ranks 181 countries in the world , and the report stated that the volume of investments in the UAE in this sector has reached around 92.9 billion dirhams in 2013, compared with 84.3 billion dirhams in 2012, and by growth of around 10 percent, the report predicted that the growth rate rising to 7.2 percent to increase the volume of investments to 104.4 billion dirhams by 2014 and reach 137.9 billion dirhams in 2022. the report stated that these investments are concentrated in the creation of the World recreational facilities and luxury hotel facilities and other of support and attractive tourism services. In the same context , Council of World Travel and Tourism stressed that the UAE accounts for the highest percentage of investments in tourism development at the level of the Middle East that the total volume of investments in which has reached to 149.1 billion dirhams in the year 2012. The number of tourists who visited the UAE has reached in the year 2012 as a favorite tourist destination for 11.2 million tourists and it is expected that this number will grow steadily to reach 18.8 million tourists in 2022, and the total tourist spending in the UAE amounted to AED 111 billion, and is expected to reach 113.8 billion dirhams by 2022.
It should be noted that the total contribution of the aviation sector and the tourism sector to the national sector of the State of the United Arab Emirates of 150 billion dirhams, equivalent to 15 percent of GDP. the UAE ranked fourth globally in the tourism infrastructure and the first in aviation infrastructure and air transport sector and knocked on the throne of tourism in the region and attracted state hotels in the past year, about 15 million tourists and guests from the Gulf and Arab states and various countries around the world.
The oil and gas industry in the UAE are the backbone of the economy and its policy in this area on the optimal sustainable use of oil and gas in order to preserve of the successive generations its share from this depleted item. And group Abu Dhabi National Oil devoted around AED 260 billion for investment in oil, gas and petrochemical sectors over the next ten years to implement a range of development projects to increase oil production to 3.5 million barrels per day by 2017 from 2.5 million barrels currently, and it is also expected to rise its production from gas to 7.5 billion cubic feet of six billion now, and the UAE occupies third place in the world’s oil reserves and up to 98 billion barrels, and it is the fifth state in the natural gas production and its reserves of it is about six trillion cubic feet.
the UAE is continuing its efforts in the implementation of more sophisticated infrastructure projects, especially in energy, transport, international airports and ports and companies of national aviation and railway projects, metro, transportation, external and internal roads , bridges, tunnels and others of integrated infrastructure projects .
Success story is not restricted at this level , but moved to another level which is exhibitions, conferences industry and other events which characterized the UAE in the making it as a global tourist and business attraction center , where it joined the membership of the World Tourism Organization, and officially deposited in the May 2, 2013 its instrument of accession to the technical management of international organizations in the Spanish Foreign Ministry as being the depository body of the Statute of the organization, where the ratification of the deposit has been done and accepted and it was entered into force.
In the context of U AE’s development of various dimensions and deepen the cultural dimensions of the experience of the overall development of the UAE’s development, Abu Dhabi hosted, during the past few days, important events, which is in its forefront the Second World creators and thinkers Festival”, which was held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan , Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme commander of the armed forces, and organized by the “HCT”, with the participation of about 150 scientists and intellectuals, including nearly 20 of the campaign, “Nobel” awards in various scientific disciplines. In the largest project of translation in the Arab world, Abu Dhabi announced, recently, for “word project “, which is the largest cultural project in the Arab countries as a whole for translation , and it would be a specialist in translation of foreign books and literature into Arabic project. The “word project” is a cultural initiative originally launched by HH Gen. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, during his visit to “the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair” at its last session, where he directed then to activate the translation movement of the language Arabic for various fields of science and human knowledge.
The search in the successful experiments of civilization of a people, taking us to stand on a number of conclusions, which can be pulled on the UAE’s experience. We find that the Arab intellectuals have tried to quote the ideas that make our communities progressing in away to make it in the ranks of developed societies. But more than a century and a half century, and the dream of a true renaissance and comprehensive development is not completed as the result of complex and tangled subjective and objective factors that disrupted comprehensive Arab dream. But this does not prevent the existence of exceptional experiences which were able to impose itself in the context of the success of civilization.
In the UAE example, there is what might be called in the scientific readings of the civilized projects by great revolutions laws. One of these laws, we find the concepts of change in the current state , and unity as a futurestic project, and the science as a bridge that is essential to cross into the ranks of developed societies.
In relation to the change in the current state , according to the words of Dr. Abdallah Laroui, we find that the conditions of the success of the example of the UAE, lies to invest the available capacity for work, construction and production, and these strategies have proven effective in a short time, as the country emerged from betting on oil wealth to diversify the economic activities and the oil has just become an element of national wealth elements, there we can talk about that investment of the petroleum energy in the right way, in the sense that it has turned into a tool for development and not an end itself. These trends were completed by self convictions, that oil is not wealth in itself, but it is a way to create other wealth which are more permanent. But this success also reflects the openness of the political leadership in this Arab country on the successful ideas in the world, and took some of which contributes to the progress, it is quoted for Sheikh Zayed , may God have mercy on him , saying: «I have parents contributed to the building of this country, and our duty to build for future generations and to continue the march of the ancestors, and we have to take advantage of all the expertise and experience without shame, we take them as far as useful for us and we need and as far as is consistent with our traditions and our Arabic ideals . »
Unity is very important element in understanding the experiences of successful change. In fact, the concept of unity, was raised by the parties bearing nationalist ideas, but all the trials ended in failure, for reasons of lack of understanding of imported nationalist ideas and because of the lack of understanding of the goals of Arab unity.
But in the UAE example, had a different way, this successful federal case, made ​​the concept of unity, an active element in a comprehensive progressive project, is to belong to the union an option for the future and not just nostalgia for the past . And people who understand the term unity in a true understanding that was succeeded in turning the «unity» from the emotional state to the status of the work, construction, performance, overtaking towards a better future. State of the Union today is a clear expression of that unity that can be the element of construction and force element.
The third pillar is the science , and the fact that the statements that we mentioned at the beginning of this article demonstrate the deep awareness of the importance of science in the Arab human creation in the UAE which is different .the inspiration of modern science and the diversification of educational experiences with leading international universities, for the transfer of knowledge and instilled in the UAE’s fertile soil, that would free the mind and man in general from being fanatic and isolation , and elevate him to seek progress, which are basic steps to make a major real revolutions, revolutions of building , unity, and change. The experience of UAE met these conditions.
In the Language of accomplishments and numbers, it has been achieved for the UAE much since the establishment of the Union in 1971 and the assumption Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan – may God have mercy on him – the reins of power until his death, and on the same pace and approach , Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan continues , Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme commander of the armed forces, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, United Arab Emirates , the march of development and at all levels making the man and his creation as the core to establish any development that UAE witnessed and will be witnessed by the UAE in the coming days.
In conclusion: we can say , Forty-four years of leadership and excellence of the United Arab Emirates, which has become one of the developed world due to what has been achieved and witnessed from the construction , industrial, economic, cultural, scientific boom and others , our brothers are entitled to rejoice of their National Day of the UAE federation and the right of us as a Yemenis to rejoice with them and proud of the leadership and the people of this sister country that is consistently and for decades to lend a helping hand to their brothers in Yemen and providing aid in the form of grants, subsidies and loans of development in several areas such as education, health, roads, electricity and agriculture, not to mention the humanitarian initiatives in times of disaster and crisis, which almost does not stop .
After four decades on the founding of the United Arab Emirates , it has become an oasis of peace, prosperity and progress in the area which is full of turmoil and its economy has become the second ones in the Arab world and the most diverse economy among the economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and succeeded in building a better infrastructure in the Arab world and has become to attract the best and brightest talents from the region and the world and enjoy excellent external relations and become the focus of admiration and appreciation of all the countries in the region and the world which is seen as the most important examples of modern age of the renaissance of the Arab countries amid its neighbors in the Middle East
Rawabet Research and Strategic Studies Center