UAE federation responds as one

For all the doubters, critics, sceptics and cynics there are surely a few things to learn about the intricate details of how the UAE federation functions. The mechanisms of building a nation and enabling it to progress is largely credited to the will of its leaders and people. Over the decades, the UAE has faced numerous challenges — and each became a learning opportunity.

The recent funding is yet another indication of how the UAE works as a single unit. And in order to understand this process of integration an effort has to be made to also understand the nation's political, historical and cultural fabric.

The UAE leadership has consistently expressed its firm support and commitment to the federation and to each Emirate that falls under its umbrella. The support extended to Dubai could not be clearer.

Last April, President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, along with a senior delegation from Abu Dhabi, toured Dubai's landmarks with His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. "Shaikh Mohammad's vision is an inseparable part of the government's comprehensive strategy... We all should be proud of this success as well as all other achievements of this great nation," he said.

In the following months, Shaikh Khalifa reiterated his confidence in the ability of the UAE to withstand the negative effects of the global economic crisis, emphasising a commitment towards the federation to continue as a strong and stable unit.

There are no secrets in the relationship between Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the rest of the Emirates. There are no conspiracy theories in how they relate to each other. And there are no illusions about the line that separates fact from fiction when it comes to the federation's state of affairs.