Profiles | Shaikh Maktoum
Arab diplomats pay homage to a great statesman
The UAE's Arab diplomatic community said they had lost a great leader yesterday, with the passing away of Shaikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
- By Bassma Al Jandaly, Diaa Hadid and Bassam Za'za' Staff Reporters
- Published: 00:00 January 5, 2006
Dubai: The UAE's Arab diplomatic community said they had lost a great leader yesterday, with the passing away of Shaikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Syrian Ambassador Dr Riyad Nassan Agha said Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, the Syrian Government and the people and all Syrians in the UAE and abroad expressed condolences to President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Their Highnesses, the Supreme Council Members and Rulers of the emirates.
"We also express condolences to His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, and to Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance and Industry, and to the people of UAE and the Arab world for the great loss of Shaikh Maktoum, whose achievements regarding development in the country became an example for the whole world to follow," said Agha.
Served the poor
The Iraqi Consul-General Esmat Aziz Siddiq said: "We send our condolences to the UAE's leadership and people over the death of Shaikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The Arab and Islamic world has lost a great knight, a man who served his people, who served Arabs, who served the poor."
Sudanese Ambassador Ahmad Mahjoub Shawer said: "We would like to express condolences from the Sudanese leadership, the Sudanese people, and the Sudanese community in the UAE, which has been treated with so much care by the UAE's leadership, Shaikh Khalifa, and the Supreme Council, and to the Al Maktoum family, and to the UAE people on the passing away of Shaikh Maktoum.
"The Arab world has lost one of its leaders, a man who always strived for Arab solidarity, who worked for the development of the UAE."
Dr Mohammad Al Douri, the former Iraqi ambassador to the UN who has lived in the UAE for the last three years, said: "The UAE has lost one of its pioneers who made the UAE a leading country."
The Palestinian Consul-General in Dubai, Salim Abu Sultan, said: "In the name of Abu Mazen, President of Palestine, the Palestinian Government, and the Palestinian people in Palestine and beyond, we mourn the death of the great Shaikh, the generous Shaikh, the Shaikh of high morals, the man who gave generously, who has a special place in every Palestinian's heart.
"Palestine has lost a great knight, and we mourn his loss to the Arabs, to Shaikh Hamdan, Shaikh Mohammad, Shaikh Ahmad and the Al Maktoum family."
Dedicated
A statement from Naif Al Zaydan, the Jordanian Consul-General in Dubai, said: "It is a heartbreaking loss to the Arab and Muslim nation. He was a dedicated statesman. He played a very important role in all Arab issues and was a leading Arab leader and a great nationalist," he added.
Al Zaydan remembered and praised Shaikh Maktoum's productive role in developing Dubai and the UAE in all domains.
Dr Jalal Dehghani, Iranian Cultural Consul, conveyed the Iranian Government's condolences to the UAE and its people.
Ebrahim Hafiz, Consul-General of Egypt, expressed the Egyptian community's condolences to the UAE for the "unbelievable and sudden departure of Shaikh Maktoum".
Lebanese Ambassador Hassan Berro said it was a great loss for the UAE and the Arab world.
"Whenever an Arab country loses a wise, outstanding and devoted leader like Shaikh Maktoum, the whole Arab nation suffers a great loss."
He served Dubai and the UAE generously, added Berro.
The UAE's Arab diplomatic community said yesterday they had lost a great leader with the passing away of Shaikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum
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