Tuesday, Oct 25, 2011
Gulf News
Muscat The stability that the UAE offers with sustainable economic development has been praised by an analyst, a civil society member and rights activist.
“Very few countries around the world have achieved what the UAE has achieved in the past 40 years,” Khalid Al Haribi, who heads the country’s only independent think-tank Tawasul-Oman, told Gulf News.
Al Haribi, who was among 1,133 candidates who contested the October 15 Majlis Shura elections, added that the combination between modernity and stability has asserted the UAE’s position.
“Despite the many global challenges facing many countries, the UAE has managed to overcome these challenges and prove that its economic development is sustainable,” he said referring to the 2008 global economic recession.
Modern state
“Oman and the UAE enjoy ties that are being strengthened every day because of common values and interests,” Al Haribi said.
“People and leaderships in both countries will hopefully be able to capitalise even more on integration potential in accordance with the vision of the GCC,” the political science graduate from West Virginia University in the US said.
He stressed that the legacy of focusing on what brings the UAE and Oman together will always minimise or eliminate any challenges that these two neighbours might face.
Awad Saeed Baquwair, a political analyst, believes that the UAE has made comprehensive progress since the establishment of the United Arab Emirates in 1971.
“The UAE has become a model of the modern state in which economic prosperity has contributed to a qualitative development in all aspects of contemporary life,” said Baquwair.
He added that the UAE continues its comprehensive development in all fields — economic, social as well as cultural. The soft-spoken veteran opinion writer in Oman praised the level of welfare and prosperity enjoyed by its citizens.
“It is not only about infrastructure development but care has been taken in the last 40 years that citizens also prosper along with the other growth.”
“The UAE has become an oasis of stability and security,” Baquwair said.
“Furthermore, he added, it [the UAE] enjoys regional as well as international respect for its substantial role in political and humanitarian issues.”
“Development in a modern state is reinforced through the promotion of services and economic diversification which have made the UAE a model of a developed state,” said the Deputy Chairman of the Omani Journalists Association.
In his opinion, Omani-UAE relations are deep-rooted due to mutual ties, a common history and close cooperation at bilateral as well as GCC levels.
Aspects of cooperation
“The recent electricity network link between the two countries is considered as one of the important projects in the field of cooperation between the two neighbours,” he said.
He added that the joint committee between the two countries plays an important role in activating economic and trade relations as well as various other aspects of cooperation.
“We wish the UAE further promotion and progress as it enters a new phase in the history of its modern renaissance.
Mukhtar Al Rawahi, a champion of causes for the physically challenged in Oman, believes that the strong economic structure of the UAE helped it weather the 2008 global economic recession.
“The UAE proved to the world that it is capable of weathering any storm,” said the wheelchair-bound activist.
Al Rawahi, who is well known in Oman for his editing skills with Oman Television, believes a strong UAE economy benefits the entire GCC, especially Oman. “As neighbours and GCC members, we benefit from each other’s progress,” he said.
By Sunil K. Vaidya?Bureau Chief
Gulf News 2011. All rights reserved.
