Yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid becoming Ruler of Dubai and, shortly afterwards, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE. It is a fitting occasion to reflect on his roles at the helm of the country’s most populous emirate and in Cabinet.
In his anniversary letter, published on Sunday, Sheikh Mohammed summarises the approach taken by what has become one the most dynamic nations in the world. The letter extends Sheikh Mohammed's thanks to various close friends, as well as to the wider nation. Friendship, he notes, forms part of the foundation of the UAE’s greatness.
Early on in the letter, Sheikh Mohammed mentions Vision 2021, which was formulated in 2009. Such initiatives are a fitting introduction to the past 15 years' annual stream of projects, reforms and new laws. The ambition is unambiguous, centred on the target of making the UAE "one of the best countries in the world". Sheikh Mohammed references the many individual efforts which continue to work towards this goal, including the introduction of more than 50 laws to keep pace with society's current and future needs. Similarly, recent legal reforms include increasing the ease at which foreign residents can make a home in the country, formally allowing inheritance to be distributed according to one's country of origin, as well as allowing divorces to be processed under the legal system of a resident's home country, among others.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid presents United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan with the Zayed International Prize for the Environment in Dubai in February 2006, one month after he was named prime minister and vice president of the UAE. AFP
President Sheikh Khalifa and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid arrive for the inauguration of the National Federal Council on 12 February 2007 in Abu Dhabi. The semi-elected chamber is a consultative body that debates policies and makes recommendations to the government. AFP
Sheikh Mohammed and his brother Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid meets with Lt Gen Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, chief of Dubai Police, at Zabeel Palace in Dubai on September 30, 2008 on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha. AFP
Sheikh Mohammed shakes hands with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II during a meeting in Windsor Castle in London on November 23, 2009. AFP
Sheikh Mohammed disembarks an Emirates A380 during a media tour of Dubai's new second airport, Dubai World Central, on July 1, 2010. AFP
Sheikh Mohammed with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz at the sidelines of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit meeting in Riyadh on December 19, 2011. Saudi Press Agency
Sheikh Mohammed welcomes Sultan Qaboos bin Said as the Omani leader arrives at Dubai International Airport on October 22, 2012. Wam
Sheikh Mohammed salutes the crowd near Dubai's Burj Khalifa as the country marks on December 1, 2013. AFP
Sheikh Mohammed spins the golden whip as he celebrates after his horse African Story won the Dubai World Cup on March 29, 2014. AFP
The Dubai Ruler speaks among engineers and scientists during a ceremony to unveil UAE's Mars Mission on May 6, 2015 in Dubai. AFP
Sheikh Mohammed meets US Vice President Joe Biden in Dubai, on March 8, 2016. WAM
Jordan's King Abdullah II talks with Sheikh Mohammed during a welcome ceremony at the Queen Alia International Airport in Amman on March 28, 2017 ahead of talks on the eve of the Arab League summit. AFP
British teacher Andria Zafirakou receives the Global Teacher Prize from Sheikh Mohammed at an award ceremony in Dubai on March 18, 2018. AFP
Sheikh Mohammed greets Pope Francis as the pontiff arrives at the presidential palace in Abu Dhabi on 4 February 2019. Getty
Sheikh Mohammed speaks to UAE Armed Forces personnel who served in Yemen at Zayed Military City in Abu Dhabi, February 9, 2020. MOPA
95 per cent of UAE residents report feeling safe
About 2,500 government services have transferred into smart systems, again intended to ease the lives of all those living in the UAE and boost government efficiency. Sheikh Mohammed draws on statistics from the 130 per cent increase in the federal budget, to over $2 billion of state funding for research and development. Other paths to a more dynamic future include last year's expansion of the Golden Visa scheme, intended to attract talented people and their families from around the globe, with the goal of strengthening and diversifying the economic future of the UAE.
The measures seem to be working. For example, 95 per cent of UAE residents report feeling safe, and the country now has the second largest economy in the Arab world.
In terms of Sheikh Mohammed's specific achievements in the emirate of Dubai, a diverse economy focused on global industries such as tourism and aviation boosts the soft power and international profile of the country as a whole. These, along with, for example, Dubai's financial sector, have helped maintain the Emirates’ prosperity throughout last year's difficulties.
While Sheikh Mohammed dedicates parts of the letter to these local achievements, they are tied into the wider success of Emirati unity and collective identity. He talks of his partnership – and fraternal bonds – with leaders from other emirates, particularly with his "friend, companion, supporter and leader", Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
The past year was a difficult one. It is plain that with some of the best testing rates internationally, as well as swifter and less economically harmful lockdowns, the UAE has had a less damaging pandemic than many other developed countries. It is fitting, therefore, that as vaccinations spell the beginning of the end of Covid-19, the nation reflects on central players in the UAE's success, such as we do today on the occasion of 15 years of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid’s leadership.
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PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Yorkshire Vikings 144-1 in 12.5 overs
(Tom Kohler 72 not out, Harry Broook 42 not out) bt Hobart Hurricanes 140-7 in 20 overs
(Caleb Jewell 38, Sean Willis 35, Karl Carver 2-29, Josh Shaw 2-39)
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Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
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Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
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SERIES INFO
Cricket World Cup League Two
Nepal, Oman, United States tri-series
Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu
Fixtures
Wednesday February 5, Oman v Nepal
Thursday, February 6, Oman v United States
Saturday, February 8, United States v Nepal
Sunday, February 9, Oman v Nepal
Tuesday, February 11, Oman v United States
Wednesday, February 12, United States v Nepal
Table
The top three sides advance to the 2022 World Cup Qualifier.
The bottom four sides are relegated to the 2022 World Cup playoff
Egypt’s Copts belong to one of the world’s oldest Christian communities, with Mark the Evangelist credited with founding their church around 300 AD. Orthodox Christians account for the overwhelming majority of Christians in Egypt, with the rest mainly made up of Greek Orthodox, Catholics and Anglicans.
The community accounts for some 10 per cent of Egypt’s 100 million people, with the largest concentrations of Christians found in Cairo, Alexandria and the provinces of Minya and Assiut south of Cairo.
Egypt’s Christians have had a somewhat turbulent history in the Muslim majority Arab nation, with the community occasionally suffering outright persecution but generally living in peace with their Muslim compatriots. But radical Muslims who have first emerged in the 1970s have whipped up anti-Christian sentiments, something that has, in turn, led to an upsurge in attacks against their places of worship, church-linked facilities as well as their businesses and homes.
More recently, ISIS has vowed to go after the Christians, claiming responsibility for a series of attacks against churches packed with worshippers starting December 2016.
The discrimination many Christians complain about and the shift towards religious conservatism by many Egyptian Muslims over the last 50 years have forced hundreds of thousands of Christians to migrate, starting new lives in growing communities in places as far afield as Australia, Canada and the United States.
Here is a look at major attacks against Egypt's Coptic Christians in recent years:
November 2: Masked gunmen riding pickup trucks opened fire on three buses carrying pilgrims to the remote desert monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor south of Cairo, killing 7 and wounding about 20. IS claimed responsibility for the attack.
May 26, 2017: Masked militants riding in three all-terrain cars open fire on a bus carrying pilgrims on their way to the Monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor, killing 29 and wounding 22. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
April 2017: Twin attacks by suicide bombers hit churches in the coastal city of Alexandria and the Nile Delta city of Tanta. At least 43 people are killed and scores of worshippers injured in the Palm Sunday attack, which narrowly missed a ceremony presided over by Pope Tawadros II, spiritual leader of Egypt Orthodox Copts, in Alexandria's St. Mark's Cathedral. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks.
February 2017: Hundreds of Egyptian Christians flee their homes in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, fearing attacks by ISIS. The group's North Sinai affiliate had killed at least seven Coptic Christians in the restive peninsula in less than a month.
December 2016: A bombing at a chapel adjacent to Egypt's main Coptic Christian cathedral in Cairo kills 30 people and wounds dozens during Sunday Mass in one of the deadliest attacks carried out against the religious minority in recent memory. ISIS claimed responsibility.
July 2016: Pope Tawadros II says that since 2013 there were 37 sectarian attacks on Christians in Egypt, nearly one incident a month. A Muslim mob stabs to death a 27-year-old Coptic Christian man, Fam Khalaf, in the central city of Minya over a personal feud.
May 2016: A Muslim mob ransacks and torches seven Christian homes in Minya after rumours spread that a Christian man had an affair with a Muslim woman. The elderly mother of the Christian man was stripped naked and dragged through a street by the mob.
New Year's Eve 2011: A bomb explodes in a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria as worshippers leave after a midnight mass, killing more than 20 people.
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
