Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi illustration
Abu Dhabi, the largest of the seven emirates and the federal capital of the United Arab Emirates, serves as a model for other countries in the region.
Area: 26,263 square miles Capital: Abu Dhabi City Population: 1.702 Languages: Arabic GDP per capita: USD 184,96 billion Monetary unit: UAE dirham Imports: rmachinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food.. Exports: crude oil, natural gas, reexports, dried fish, dates.
Enlightened leadership ensuring long-term prosperity
Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan President of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Abu Dhabi
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces
Benefiting from the far-sighted leadership of the Al Nahyan family, Abu Dhabi has wisely employed its vast oil wealth – Abu Dhabi possesses around 10 percent of the world’s oil reserves – to achieve sustainable development, prosperity for its people and stability for the United Arab Emirates as a whole.
The discovery of oil in 1958 and its subsequent export beginning in 1962 transformed Abu Dhabi from a quiet trading and fishing center to one of the world’s most prosperous economies. Guided by the late H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan for more than four decades, Abu Dhabi used its oil revenues to create state-of-the-art infrastructure, telecommunications, hospitals and schools.
H.H. Sheikh Mohammed helping to promote diversification
H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi, who has served as the Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council since 2004, was H.H. Sheikh Zayed’s security advisor. He is an active member of the Supreme Petroleum Council and is head of the Abu Dhabi Council for Economic Development, Mubadala Development and the Abu Dhabi Education Council. He has said, “The real story of Abu Dhabi in 2006 and beyond is much broader than oil and gas. It is a story of rapid growth, breath-taking diversification and strategic liberalization of the economy.”
Plan Abu Dhabi 2030
The Al Nahyan family’s strategy of building for the future is reflected in Abu Dhabi’s ambitious Abu Dhabi 2030: Urban Structure Framework Plan, a comprehensive plan for the development of the emirate over the next quarter-century. Overseen by the Urban Planning Council, the plan specifies land uses, building heights and transportation plans for Abu Dhabi, whose population is projected to grow from the current 1.6 million to over 3 million people by 2030.
Thanks to enlightened leadership, Abu Dhabi has established the foundations on which to build future prosperity.
H.H. Sheikh Zayed one of the world’s great leaders
H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, born in Abu Dhabi in around 1918, was the ruler of Abu Dhabi from 1966 until his death in November 2004, and became one of the most highly respected leaders in modern history.
H.H. Sheikh Zayed distinguished himself through his honesty, fairness, long-term strategies, willingness to take on ambitious goals and the determination to achieve them, and dedication to making sure that the emirate’s vast oil wealth was used to bring about long-term prosperity.
When H.H. Sheikh Zayed was born, Abu Dhabi was poor and undeveloped, with an economy based primarily on fishing and pearl-diving. In H.H. Sheikh Zayed’s youth, he learned all he could about the lives of Abu Dhabi’s citizens, particularly the nomadic Bedouin. He also learned to appreciate the fragility of the desert environment and the need to protect it, and, after watching the decline of the pearl industry throughout the region, he learned that no country should depend on a single source of income.
When oil was discovered in Abu Dhabi, H.H. Sheikh Zayed commented, “I had dreamed about our land catching up with the modern world, but I was not able to do anything because I did not have the wherewithal in my hands to achieve these dreams. I was sure, however, that one day they would become true.” He launched a massive program of constructing schools, housing, hospitals and infrastructure. “First, I knew we had to concentrate on public welfare. Then, I wanted to approach other emirates to work with us,” he said of his early years as ruler.
Along with the late Ruler of Dubai, H.H. Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, H.H. Sheikh Zayed took the lead in calling for a federation that eventually became the United Arab Emirates in December 1971, and H.H. Sheikh Zayed’s fellow rulers chose him as the new federation’s first president. In later years, he commented, “That which has been accomplished has exceeded all our expectations, and that, with the help of God and a sincere will, confirms that there is nothing that cannot be achieved in the service of the people if determination is firm and intentions are sincere.”
