UK expats in the UAE celebrate Queen’s birthday

Dubai: Spirited British expatriates gathered at UK diplomatic missions in Abu Dhabi and Dubai to celebrate the birthday of Queeen Elizabeth II.

To the backdrop of red, white and blue Union flags, diplomats, VIPs and expats attended a gala event in Abu Dhabi with special guests Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development and Shaikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of Development and International Cooperation.

Dubai Embassy decorated its gardens with strings of white lights and to the sounds of a full band as hundreds poured into the compound on Dubai Creek on Wednesday with best wishes for their monarch.

UK Foreign Secretary, William Hague, and UAE Minister of Economy, Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, looked on as a cake was cut in the Queen’s honour.

Hague noted that the birthday party was being held shortly before next week’s state visit to the UK by

the UAE President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the invitation of the Queen.

In his speech in Dubai, Hague gave the growing relationship between UK and UAE top marks and said next week’s state visit is a strong sign of continued friendship between the two countries.

The UK government, he said, is keen to furthering those links in the future, he said.

“Those links are intensifying all of the time,” Hague said. “We, in the British government, will never stop strengthening those links.”

Dominic Jermey, UK Ambassador to the UAE, said: “I’m honoured by the participation of our hosts in this special occasion — Her Majesty The Queen’s Birthday. It is another example of the close relationships between our royal families, our leaders and our people. His Highness Shaikh Khalifa’s state visit to the UK next week celebrates a decades old friendship between the UK and UAE that will extend long into the future. The visit will be a significant personal moment in the warm relationship between President Khalifa and The Queen, as well as a milestone in the bilateral relationship between our two countries. It will demonstrate the importance the British people, our Government and our Queen — attach to the relationship. The ties between our nations draw strength from the links between our people, ranging from our thriving educational and tourism links to our growing investment in each other’s economies. Our practical cooperation and bond of friendship have never been stronger and it is events like tonight that bring those bonds ever closer.”

UK Consul General in Dubai,Edward Hobart, made a brief address to the crowd.

“Her Majesty’s Birthday is particularly important this year as it falls few days before the highly anticipated visit of the UAE President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the UK which is a testimony to the strength of the friendship between the UK and the UAE at the very highest level and a milestone in the long-standing and unique history that both our countries share. It reflects the special relationship of not only our two royal families but also the links between our businesses, institutions and people — links that have emerged as a result of a unique history of over 200 years. I’m extremely proud of the spirit that binds the UK and the UAE and tonight’s gathering is an apt demonstration of that,” he said.