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We reward innovation to serve the country, says VP

Shaikh Mohammed honours former Dubai National Bank heads, staff at a ceremony at World Trade Centre.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has honoured the first cohort of chairmen, vice-chairmen and members of the Board of Directors of the former Dubai National Bank, which is now known as Emirates NBD.

Shaikh Mohammed and Shaikh Ahmed pose for photo with former employees of Dubai National Bank at the honouring ceremony on Monday. -Wam

Shaikh Mohammed also honoured around 40 heads of the bank’s executives, their deputies and directors of the bank, which was established during the lifetime of the late Shaikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum in 1962. The first Chairman of the National Bank of Dubai was the late Sultan bin Ali Al Owais.

The honouring ceremony, held at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) on Monday, was attended by Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.

Shaikh Mohammed then watched a documentary about the history of the bank since its establishment and its development in Dubai before the inception of the UAE, and the bank’s contribution to the economic and banking development of the country in general.

The documentary showed that Shaikh Mohammed ordered the merging of National Bank of Dubai with Emirates Bank in 2007 to become one financial entity to be headed by Chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation and Chief Executive of Emirates Group, Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

The report in the documentary also pointed that Emirates NBD has more than 200 branches locally and globally and serves around a million clients, being viewed as one of the most important contributors to the national economy prosperity.

Shaikh Mohammed honoured chairmen, vice chairmen, directors, CEOs and old and current staff of the bank at the function.

At the end of the ceremony, Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum presented Shaikh Mohammed with a souvenir gift before the Vice-President posed for photographs with the honoured staff.

Shaikh Mohammed thanked the staff for their great achievements in rendering high quality banking services and their contributions to pushing the wheel of national economy progress, in addition to financing a number of developmental projects and investment activities in the UAE and beyond.

“We reward whoever is devoted to his work and preserves the reputation of our dear country as well as contributes to the development and safeguarding of our national economy. We also reward whoever shows innovation in his work to serve the country and its citizens, cohering to virtues and transparency and giving his country the utmost of his potential and innovative ideas that support our vision for the future of the country and the upcoming generations.”

Also present at the ceremony were Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs; Sultan bin Nasser Al Suweidi, Governor of the UAE Central Bank; Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani, Director-General of Dubai Ruler’s Court; Khalifa Saeed Suleiman, Director-General of Dubai Protocol and Hospitality; other dignitaries, economists, bankers and senior officials .