Dubai:
This summit is the first step to be followed by many leaps in creativity and innovation, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and the Ruler of Dubai, said in his keynote speech at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit-Entrepreneurial Ventures of Arabia (GES-EVA) in Dubai on Tuesday.
“Today, with hosting this summit we have walked the first step which will be followed by others, and we did open a path that will be followed by others as well. We are all partners and responsible to create an ideal environment in our societies for the youth to excel and innovate...”
“Leadership is one of the main pillars that shapes the Emirati identity,” he said.
In a call to the Arab youth, Shaikh Mohammad said: “Leadership is not a new concept in our Arab region.”
In this region, man founded the alphabet, algebra and maths as the oldest university in the world existed here and graduated scientists, doctors, engineers and astronomers.
Pointing to the openness of Islamic countries, he said: “The greatest achievement for the Islamic civilisation is openness and the globalisation of culture, sciences and knowledge.”
“Our civilisation adopted the knowledge from different civilisations as well as spread its own.”
He remarked that in the emirate they believe in the youth’s capability and are pushing them to overcome all challenges towards development.
“I say to the youth that you deserve to be the first and better, and the future can be made only by leaders, and history can be changed by courageous people only.”
“In the UAE, we believe in human beings more than believing in wealth.”
With persistence, the UAE has been transformed from a desert into a global country, Shaikh Mohammad added.
“In the Emirates we have succeeded in beating poverty 40 years ago, because we have great confidence in ourselves and our people.”
Shaikh Mohammad said that while earlier the UAE’s universities have been graduating almost 40 students per year, today the UAE has over 70 universities graduating tens of thousands students per year.
“We could double our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 190 fold. All this because of our persistence, will and ambition which are the key for leadership.”
However, he said that doubts and hesitation are behind failure.
Shaikh Mohammad said that if we want to look at an ideal example in e leadership we have to remember the achievements of late Shaikh Zayed and Shaikh Rashid.
While they succeeded in building the right solid base for their countries, other leaders have destroyed the nations that already exist, he added, comparing leaders and people to the knights and horses that can’t win without each others’ support.
“The educated and ambitious youth are the pillar and knights,” Shaikh Mohammad added.
