Mohammed bin Rashid: The unification of the armed forces is a historic decision in the course of the Union State

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, said that the decision to unify the armed forces was a historic achievement that confirmed the founding fathers' determination to move forward in completing the pillars of the union and strengthening its march.

His Highness added, in a speech delivered through the magazine "Dera Al Watan" on the 45th anniversary of the unification of the armed forces, that our celebration of this precious anniversary is of exceptional importance because it comes in the "year of fifty" that was announced by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, to celebrate With our unique human journey in the first fifty years of our nation’s history, preparing for an effective and sustainable transformation for the next fifty years.

His Highness pointed out that our armed forces foreseeing the future and keeping pace with changes is part of its culture, and its role in the next fifty years is naturally an extension of its role since its establishment: the shield and sword of our homeland, the impenetrable fence for our security and stability, and the faithful guardian of our sovereignty and independence.

The following is the text of the speech: // / / In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful / Officers and soldiers of our valiant armed forces, honorable sons and daughters of the Emirates, Peace be upon you and the mercy and blessings of God Today we celebrate the forty-fifth anniversary of the issuance of the decision to unify the UAE Armed Forces and the blessings of the month of Ramadan increase our gratitude to the Almighty, and thank you for what He poured it out for us from his blessings, and for what he wrote for us in terms of success in our actions and success in achieving comprehensive development in our country.

Our celebration of this precious memory is of exceptional importance because it comes in the "year of fifty" announced by my brother His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, to celebrate our unique humanitarian journey in the first fifty years of our country's history, and to prepare for an effective and sustainable transformation for the next fifty years. .

The "Year of Fiftieth" invites us to contemplate our journey;

where were we?

How did we become?

And how the wisdom, determination, will and visions of the founding fathers and the fathers of empowerment proceeded in building our country until it became in record time one of the world's fastest growing, developed, progressive, resilient and effective countries.

Our founding fathers on December 2, 1971 achieved the maximum that could be achieved within the data of local, regional and international realities. They were aware that they were building an unprecedented federal model in the Arab region, and that success in building a state consisting of several emirates required progression and length of soul, and they were aware that their historic achievement by establishing The Union and its institutions and confirming its presence in regional and international forums is a first step that will be followed by other steps to complete its pillars and consolidate its foundations, and at the forefront of these steps is the unification of the Emirates Armed Forces, which was launched on this day 45 years ago, and I have been honored to participate in this launch and accompany its path in all its stages The details of those days are still fresh in my memory.

Sheikh Zayed, may God bless him and grant him peace, had formed a committee to study and propose measures for unification, and the committee submitted its recommendations to the Supreme Council of the Union, which approved them. Sheikh Zayed chaired a meeting of the Supreme Defense Council, which includes the Vice President, Prime Minister, Ministers of Defense, Foreign Affairs, Interior and Finance, Commander in Chief and Chairman Staff, and ordered the development of a plan to develop the "Union Defense Force", which became the "Federal Armed Forces," and raise the efficiency of its personnel and provide them with appropriate weapons, and on May 6, 1976 the Supreme Council of Defense held a meeting headed by Sheikh Zayed, and issued a decision to unify the UAE Armed Forces.

The unification decision was a historic achievement that confirmed the founding fathers' determination to move forward in completing the pillars of the federation and strengthening its march. As for the procedures for implementing the decision to reach full integration, it was linked to our ability to face the difficult challenge of the limited national military resources. The shortage of our qualified cadres was severe. There is a sufficient national human base in the UAE forces called for unification, and I did not envision a modern army for our country whose leaders and broad base are not the citizens, and this is in fact what made graduation in the unification process inevitable.

Yes, building and training cadres and military leaders was a huge challenge, but we faced this challenge as it should be, thanks to the leadership of Sheikh Zayed, "may God rest his soul," and my brother His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, may God protect him, and my brother His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan took care of him God, over a few years we have succeeded in achieving resettlement in the ranks of all our armed forces, and many of our forces have become an elite that we are proud of their competencies, merit and capabilities, and their success in absorbing and using the latest weapons, and managing the most advanced and sophisticated weapons systems.

Our young generations who are proud of our armed forces and are assured of their merit and effectiveness, are invited to reflect on the story of the formation of our national military cadres that accurately summarizes the process of human development in our country, and testifies that building the Emirati human being was not just a slogan we raise, but rather a planned and hard work that yielded cadres and leaders who assume responsibilities Jassam in all national work sites and activity centers in our country;

In government, in the private sector, in civil and military industries, and in the science and industries of space, clean energy, corn and their peaceful uses.

History is a great milestone, and our history in the past fifty years is full of lessons and lessons, and our prosperous present owes tremendous efforts initiated by the founding fathers and added to by the empowerment fathers, and if the achievement is clear and evident in the field of urbanization, then our greatest achievement was in the field of human development and building the Emirati, which is what needs From our educators and media people, the greatest effort is made to clarify and clarify it, especially for our young and young generations.

Here, it suffices to remember the reality of one of the main engines in human development, which is education, and compare it with our reality today.

Fifty years ago, illiteracy was prevalent, and its percentage exceeded 80%, and in the academic year 1970-1971 the number of school students in all the Emirates was 16,400 students only, / 11 thousand in the elementary stage, 4,500 in the intermediate stage, and 900 only in the secondary stage /, did not These figures give us frustration, because this is the reality in our country at the time, and our response to the challenges of this reality was by launching and implementing plans to spread education, build schools, send missions and establish universities, and today we are pleased that the illiteracy rate in our country is among the lowest in the world, and that the level of education is among the best in the world.

As for military education, there was one military school in our country before the union that prepares its students for service in the British power scouts force, and its main mission is to protect oil installations and the interests of Britain and its subjects, and our response to the challenge of military education was to establish military schools and colleges that are comparable to the best in the world. And provide our armed forces with competencies and national cadres in all branches and sciences of arms on land, sea and air, and qualifies officers to fill leadership and staff positions, prepares leaders and raises their capabilities to identify and evaluate security challenges at the national, regional and international levels, and to manage and employ state resources to serve supreme national interests.

Our national systems have been completed by the national service program, which entrenches the values ​​of loyalty and belonging among our youth, and cultivates in them the spirit of order, discipline and sacrifice to enable them to serve our nation in the best way, so it is not like the military service a school to build and refine the national character and enhance its awareness of the national issues and challenges facing the path of our homeland. Development and progress.

Dear officers and soldiers, Emiratis and Emiratis, as we celebrate the anniversary of the unification of our armed forces, reassured of their capabilities, proud of their efficiency, and their performance in all the tasks entrusted to them, we must stop at a great achievement that our armed forces had a major role in achieving, which is the Emirati military industries.

In fact, thinking about military industries was present when the decision to unify our armed forces was issued, and it was a dream that seemed far-fetched, but the leadership's vision, plans and watchfulness, and the determination of men transformed the dream into a lived reality, with which our military industries became a major component of our self-strength.

We were aware of the importance of building a national military industry, not only to fill part of the needs of our forces, but also to strengthen the independence of our political decision, support our efforts to diversify our economy, and provide the Emirati scientific community with national competencies and experiences, as the military industries in all developed countries are among the most important incubators for research and development, inventions and innovations. With military and civilian uses.

Just as we faced the challenge of scarcity of human resources fifty years ago and succeeded in facing this challenge, plans to build our military industries faced the challenge of gaining experience, transferring technology and indigenizing it, and we rose to meet this challenge by linking armament programs with industrialization and knowledge transfer programs, and through specialized exhibitions, foremost of which are the aviation and IDEX exhibitions. They provided us with the opportunity to see the latest achievements of the military industries in the developed countries of the world, and the opportunity to form partnerships with the most important manufacturers, as well as to provide windows to market the production of our factories.

Our military industries have enabled our sons and daughters to have direct contact with the highest expertise and the latest technologies, which strengthened national scientific capabilities, and accelerated the transfer and indigenization of advanced technology.

Today, our factories produce and export armored vehicles, military transport vehicles, missiles of all kinds and calibers, individual weapons, unmanned aerial vehicles, training aircraft, airships, light combat aircraft that adopt stealth technology, ships, cruisers, warships, aerial surveying techniques and information gathering, and so our military industries have been integrated. With our civil industries, and completed the advanced manufacturing system in our country, the "Made in the Emirates" brand has become a symbol of quality and workmanship, and a place of trust in all parts of the world.

Dear officers and soldiers, Emiratis and Emiratis, we have accomplished in the past fifty years much of what is witnessed by far and wide, and our Emirati model has become a strong base full of knowledge and experience for our launch with confidence and steady steps towards a more prosperous, resilient and effective future, and more capable of providing a secure and prosperous life for our future generations.

Since my brother, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, declared the year 2020 a year of preparation for the next fifty years, and despite the burdens that the Corona pandemic has cast on our country and our world, our government has led major workshops in which it has engaged the community with all its activities to develop a strategic framework for our work in the five decades. The forthcoming development plan, clear goals, priorities and specific time programs, and a vision for the governmental work system to enhance its readiness for the future, and its ability to anticipate global challenges and changes and their emerging trends, so that our government will be the fastest, most flexible and able to adapt to these variables, anticipate their effects, and seize the opportunities accompanying them.

As for our armed forces, their anticipation of the future and their keeping pace with changes is part of their culture, and their role in the next fifty years is naturally an extension of its role since its establishment: the shield and sword of our homeland, the impregnable fence for our security and stability, and the faithful guardian of our sovereignty and independence.

As we recall, on the occasion that we celebrate today, the process of building and developing our armed forces, I am certain that the building will rise, development will continue and capabilities will double, under the patronage of my brother His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

On the anniversary of the unification of our armed forces, we are strengthened by all its employees, and we grow in them their courage, sincerity, loyalty, and sincerity of their loyalty and affiliation, and we salute with them our martyrs who rose to the highest ranks alive with their Lord.

I ask God to guide us to what he loves and pleases, and to guide our steps and inspire us on the right path, and to preserve our homeland and our people, and to perpetuate the blessings of security, stability and prosperity for us.

Peace, mercy and blessings of God //.

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