Frankfurt: While other unions collapse, the UAE federation is growing strong “by the day” because it is based on the right foundations, His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, said.
“The Union is solid because its foundations are very strong, supported with strong and thorough legislation that meets our aspirations. UAE legislation and laws are flexible and decentralised so as not to hamper the decision-making process and impede development,” Shaikh Sultan told UAE editors in an interview.
In the wide-ranging interview, which took place on Thursday at the Sharjah Book Authority pavilion in the Frankfurt International Book Fair, Shaikh Sultan, a celebrated author and historian, said the current troubles in the Arab region would not prevent the Arabs from undertaking reforms leading to developing educated, enlightened and open-minded generations that will contribute to the rise of Arab culture and civilisation again.
He also said he has full confidence in the Egyptian leadership’s ability to overcome the challenges that have been facing the largest Arab country for the past five years. “Egypt will bounce back,” he stressed.
The Ruler of Sharjah, who signed the German edition of his latest book, Under the Flag of Occupation, at the Frankfurt fair, believes the UAE is literally achieving development milestones every day. The UAE, which celebrates its 45th anniversary on December 2, is a success story and a model for others to follow, he noted.
‘March of development’
“The march of growth and development undertaken in our country is no longer measured in years, yet in days, as we achieve milestones every day, while the development of other peoples is measured by years.”
Explaining the Union’s concept, established in 1971, Shaikh Sultan said there is no complicated centralised system that would hinder the decision-making process.
“The legislations are flexible,” he added, noting that the federal government legislates and the local governments implement their plans according to those federal legislations. “In this way, there will be no conflict between the federal and local levels.”
The union gives the seven emirates the flexibility and power to initiate their own relations with other countries in such fields as trade, culture and arts, “but when it comes to foreign policy and defence, then it is the job of the federal government”, Shaikh Sultan said.
He outlined the emirate’s ambitious cultural project, which is reflected in the Sharjah International Book Fair, which Shaikh Sultan launched in 1982.
“Sharjah is moving steadily to achieve its vision by launching initiatives and projects on a daily basis. Its efforts do not stop at the emirate but go beyond that to reach all Arab and Islamic countries. Since the beginning, I believed that if I want to lead efforts that help my country make more progress, I also have to contribute to the development of all Arab countries.
“Since I started working on my cultural project, I was looking far away. I was overwhelmed with it and the fruits that can be reaped. I have always been concerned about how this project would contribute to nurturing new educated and intellectual generations aware of the importance of books in building civilisations and realising achievements. I was confident that the seeds, which were planted by the Sharjah Book Fair over the past decades, would yield fruit later,” Shaikh Sultan said. “After all, what I really want is to put everything in its place.”
He noted that when he promotes cultural initiatives globally, he introduces himself as an Arab, a representative of Arab culture. He believes in the re-emergence of the Arab renaissance despite the current troubles in our region.
“Solutions are there, but we should work on them from now. These solutions aim to focus on the younger generations and nurture their minds with sound, enlightened and open way of thinking, and expand their knowledge, to be able to cope with the present, and move forward, armed with solid visions, supported by literature, culture, education, and intellect. We need to facilitate the journey of our younger generations to enlightenment and help secure a prosperous future,” he explained.
Shaikh Sultan emphasised that Arab culture is an integrated system that cannot be divided into numerous cultures, and “if we want to promote the culture of an Arab country, we must pay attention to the cultures of other Arab countries. We are one nation that shares the same language, identity, culture, history and the future”.
Answering a Gulf News question on Egypt, he stressed that Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi is working hard to solve the problems and crises that have faced the Egyptian state for the past five years.
“Egypt now is like a human body that tries to recover from many illnesses. This is not an easy task; Egypt is a country of 90 million people, faced with challenges from each direction,” he said, adding that President Al Sissi is like a surgeon who tries delicately to cure the body without inflicting pain.
“The treatment needs some quiet, especially under the current circumstances, but I can confidently say Egypt will be back” to play its central and influential role in the Arab world. “Throughout its history, Egypt has seen lots of changes and circumstances harder than today, but its people managed to overcome them,” he added.
He said external influences have succeeded in dividing some Arab countries along sectarian and ethnic lines, “but in Egypt they cannot do that. Egypt has always been united”.
He said the strength of Egypt leads to a strong Arab nation. “If we ever need an army that defends the Arab nation, it will always be the Egyptian army,” he emphasised.
New exhibition centre
Shaikh Sultan revealed that Sharjah is working on the construction of a new exhibition centre to more than double the space for the Sharjah International Book Fair, so as to be the avenue for the book fair and other cultural, literary and art events.
“This plan aims to expand the fair so as to cope with the mounting number of local, Arab and international exhibitors who believe in Sharjah as a cultural hub in the Arab world and the greater region,” he explained. The expansion is also meant to be in line with the continuous growth of the book fair in terms of the number of participants, visitors, events and sales. The new centre will host the book fair’s 2017 edition.
He also said that he has been working on a book dealing with the history of nations and ethnicities that contributed to the civilisation in the Arabian Gulf countries. He has been working on the book for 15 years, he revealed, “but it is still in its first chapters”.
