The UAE has grown, yet it still resembles you: Sheikh Mohammed’s letter to late Sheikh Zayed
Vice President recalls four decades under Founding Father, reflects on the nation he built
Dubai: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has paid a deeply personal tribute to the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, describing him as his teacher, leader and inspiration for four decades and reflecting on how the UAE has grown while remaining true to the values of its Founding Father.
In a letter to Zayed, Sheikh Mohammed addresses Sheikh Zayed as a father not only to him, but to Emiratis, leaders, orphans and the poor.
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“A letter to my teacher, leader and inspiration over four decades of my life. A letter to my father, and the father of Emiratis, the father of leaders and presidents, and the father of orphans and the poor,” Sheikh Mohammed wrote.
He described Sheikh Zayed as a leader who enriched the lives of millions and whose wisdom and statesmanship had left an enduring presence long after his passing.
“My message to you, my father Zayed: The UAE has grown, yet it still resembles you.”
Sheikh Mohammed reflects in the letter on the transformation of the country Sheikh Zayed helped build, recalling a time when the UAE was smaller and its resources more limited.
“How your country has grown, Zayed, just as you wanted and wished for it,” he wrote, before recalling the early years of development, when resources were scarce, roads limited and infrastructure still emerging.
Sheikh Mohammed recalls Sheikh Zayed’s determination to build schools, universities, roads and hospitals, and his conviction that the country’s resources should serve its people.
The letter portrays the UAE’s development not simply as an economic transformation, but as the fulfilment of an idea rooted in Sheikh Zayed’s belief in people and his determination to build a united nation.
A union that endured
Sheikh Mohammed also recalls the establishment of the UAE Union, describing the union as an achievement that defied doubts about whether the young country could endure.
He reflects on the early challenges surrounding the federation and Sheikh Zayed’s unwavering belief that unity would give the emirates strength.
Today, he writes, the UAE has become a country recognised internationally for its development and achievements, while the federation Sheikh Zayed helped establish remains its defining source of strength.
The country has grown beyond what might have been imagined in its early years, the Vice President said, but the principles on which it was founded have remained intact.
We learned from you
At the heart of the letter is Sheikh Mohammed’s account of the lessons he and his generation of leaders learned from Sheikh Zayed.
He recalls learning that leadership was about people, that the nation was built through unity and hard work, and that development ultimately had to serve human dignity and wellbeing.
He also evokes Sheikh Zayed’s values of generosity, tolerance and compassion, and his conviction that progress should never come at the expense of identity or humanity.
Those principles, the letter suggests, remain visible in the UAE today as the country continues its development journey.
We have become stronger
Sheikh Mohammed said that the UAE has become stronger, more prosperous and more influential, while retaining the values instilled by its founders.
He points to a country that has expanded its ambitions, built world class infrastructure and strengthened its international standing, while remaining united around the principles on which it was established.
The letter also looks beyond the UAE, reflecting Sheikh Zayed’s belief in Arab solidarity, humanitarianism and helping people regardless of nationality or background.
Sheikh Mohammed concludes on a deeply personal note, telling Sheikh Zayed that although the country has changed enormously, his presence can still be felt in its people, institutions and values.
The UAE, he writes, has grown into a nation of global stature. But at its heart, “it still resembles you.”
Meanwhile, the Arabic edition of "The Letters" will be available in major bookstores across the UAE from 1st October. The book is the second part of "Lessons from Life", and its English edition will follow on October 15.
