WorldGovSummit: Arab World can regain glory

Dubai - "We are living in a common global market, and instead of inter-Arab openness and the common Arab market, we should aspire for international openness."

Management is the missing factor that the Arab World needs to get back its development, said His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, during his address at the World Government Summit on Sunday.
In an hour-long transparent question and answer session organised to examine the revival of the development process in the Arab World, Sheikh Mohammed displayed a down-to-earth persona as he addressed a series of topics related to the Arab region.
He highlighted ways to reignite the region's development.
"I sent a letter to Arab leaders 12 years ago, telling them to change before they get changed. Some of them were upset, and others were surrounded by people who questioned what do I know about the future? It is true that the future is in God's hands, but we had indicators that make us understand the situation."
Sheikh Mohammed noted that the main mistake Arab leaders committed was surrounding themselves with officials who misinformed them about people's circumstances.
"Leaders were told that everything is excellent and that people were happy," he added. "But we had indicators that showed otherwise: there was no happiness, there was no satisfaction, there were opportunities lost, an economy that was regressing, and millions of Arab youth who had no hopes for the future."
He added, however, that since "this region is the cradle of human civilisation," there's still hope in reigniting it. "I am optimistic," he said, noting that the Arab World has all it needs to get its glory back. "The Arab World has natural resources and will power, all we need is management. We have to manage our governments, economy, infrastructure and people." However, he said the Arab World shouldn't succumb to challenges and should strive to move forward.
He noted, "We should not lose hope that we can achieve Arab progress and development, despite challenges and problems surrounding us. The UAE has faced different conflicts and criticism, media war and an economic war, but we never stop. If anything, it increased our persistence."
Of all UAE's achievements, Sheikh Mohammed said the making of humans as leaders is what tops the list of all achievements. "During the founding of UAE, we had only 40 graduates. Today, we have 77 universities," he said as he referred to Emirates Mars
mission in an unmanned probe by 2021. "I am happy that those behind the programme are all Emiratis in their 20s."
Highlighting the achievements of UAE, Sheikh Mohammed said, "We do not claim perfection. We learn something new everyday, and we do not waste time because time is like a river, if it passed, it will never come back."
He added that the UAE is ready to share its experiences with whoever seeks it, saying: "We are living in a common global market, and instead of inter-Arab openness and the common Arab market, we should aspire for international openness."
Sheikh Mohammed also said: "Today, we have those who kill others in the name of the Holy Quran, and they blow themselves up. But they have nothing to do with Islam, which is innocent and a religion of tolerance." He added, "This is not our Islam. Our Islam is about love and togetherness."
The three-day World Government Summit in Dubai, officially inaugurated on Sunday, is hosting 4,000 delegates and 150 speakers from 139 countries around the world.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum speaks his mind on burning issues of the day (Tweets)
TODAY we have those who kill others and blow themselves in the name of Islam. Such acts have nothing to do with our religion.
OUR key achievement is our people; when the #UAE was founded in 1971 we had 40 graduates, today we have 77 universities.
ALMOST third of #UAE cabinet members are women. This percentage may increase to 50% in  the coming period.

• Dubai