My Vision – Challenges in the Race For Excellence

“With each new day in Africa, a gazelle wakes up knowing he must outrun the fastest lion or perish. At the same time, a lion stirs and stretches, knowing he must outrun the fastest gazelle or stave. It is no different for the human race. Whether you consider yourself a gazelle or a lion, you simply have to run faster than others to survive.

Life consists of a number of opportunities and great opportunities do not come knocking on people’s doors. Whoever wants such opportunities must grab them when they arise, for his people and for himself. We have to be powerful, strong-willed, determined and willing to grasp such opportunities, so that we do not have to scavenge the leftovers of lions.

I will never abandon one opportunity and wait for another. We have not reached the goal we are striving for. What you see now is nothing compared to our vision… just tiny parts of what lies ahead.

We will build a great monument on these foundations and it is my wish that other Arab countries will follow suit so that we can develop the Arab world into a world of excellence. The hand of the UAE is reaching out to join the hands of its Arab brothers, so take it and let us start building together.

I know the road to development and modernization is difficult; I know that it is long and I also know that the next stages will be even tougher and longer. But I have faith in God, I believe in my people, in the wisdom of our leadership and the future of our nation. I am confident we will realize our goals. Our vision is clear, our road is paved and the clock is ticking. There is no more time for hesitation or half-baked goals