The scene of new ministers taking the oath at Al Mushrif Palace yesterday was an epitome of the UAE story. Taking the oath were veteran ministers and young ones appointed last week in what has been described as the biggest government restructuring in the nation’s history.
The veteran ministers have, for the past ten years, been working diligently and very hard to pave the way for the next ‘decade of implementation and results’, as rightly described by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The young cabinet members have been recruited to bring in their own expertise to the table, including the 22-year-old Shamma Suhail Faris Al Mazroui, the Minister of State for Youth Affairs.
The announcement of the new cabinet, with a mandate to implement the plans of the future, announced by the government in the past few years, came a few weeks after the country witnessed an unprecedented national brainstorming session, chaired by the Vice-President, to agree on ways of developing a post-oil economy that will not only sustain the current pace of development, but also spur growth. As His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, looked on yesterday while the new cabinet was sworn in, we are sure the young ministers were recalling his promise last year that the UAE will be celebrating when it ships the last barrel of oil in a few decades. As stated by Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid at his social media session on Monday, the new cabinet will make sure that promise is realised.
The new cabinet has a challenging task. The expectations are high, especially with the ambitious plan set by the country’s leadership, which includes new concepts in governance such as happiness, future and tolerance portfolios.
The entire world will be looking at the UAE experience to draw lessons from. That is what United Nations and World Bank officials said at last week’s World Government Summit. It is very hard to be a pioneer. However, the UAE makes it look easy. Its success story — transforming a Third World country into one of the most advanced nations globally in just four decades — is being emulated across the world. The scene of the cabinet swearing-in yesterday says the new challenge will not be any different. We will succeed.
