DUBAI (ALETIHAD)
The greatest legacy history will remember is that His Highness Sheikh Mohmmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has restored people’s confidence in our region, inspired an entire generation to believe it could achieve what once seemed impossible, brought out the best in the nation’s leadership talent and established a leadership philosophy centred on making people’s satisfaction a fundamental goal, said Mohammad Al Gergawi, Chairman of The Executive Office of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Chairman of the Mohammed bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development (MBRCLD).
Al Gergawi said during his opening remarks at the Mohammed bin Rashid Leadership Forum, that His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid believes that a leader’s responsibility is not merely to create for his people, but to create something within them.
Over six decades of leadership, he said, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid had built far more than a city: he had built a society, instilled a culture, nurtured a people and created a model for the region.
‘He Taught Us How to Dream’
Al Gergawi delivered a message of gratitude and a pledge for the future to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, on behalf of team Dubai and its next generation of leaders.
“This year, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum published a different kind of book, ‘The Letters’, which is part II of ‘Lessons from Life’. These are messages drawn from what life has taught him.
He writes to the President of the UAE, to his Crown Prince, to his brothers, to his team, to young people and students, to his people and to everyone who will carry the responsibility of this nation,” he said. Al Gergawi noted that His Highness has distilled sixty years of life, leadership and service to the nation into these letters.
“His Highness sends us many messages, not only through what he writes, but through what he says and what he does. But what is our message to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the leader who changed our lives? Today, my address is a message from team Dubai to its leader: a message of gratitude and affection, and a pledge for the future.”
“What His Highness achieved over six decades was not just building a city. He taught us how to dream, then trusted us to turn these dreams into reality. He taught us to think globally and showed us that ambition is not limited by resources of geography,” said Al Gergawi.
“He taught us that people are the foundation, the mind is the resource, and work is the path forward. He taught us that the impossible can be achieved.”
‘A Transformation Within Us’
Al Gergawi said that His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid has raised expectations, transformed the conception of what is possible and instilled the confidence that the UAE could stand among the world’s leading nations.
“Today, the world comes to Dubai to live, invest, study its experience and discover the secret of its success. Our city has become a model the world looks to. This transformation was not only a physical one; it was a transformation within us,” he said.
“At a time when many viewed the region through the lens of conflict, associated its glory with the past and its wealth primarily with oil, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed believed in the people who call this region home.
He built a diversified economy based on trade, aviation, tourism, finance, services, technology and logistics, powered by talent, hard work and openness to the world.”
He pointed that dreams become opportunities and ideas become reality, evident in Dubai’s ports, airports, Emirates, free zones, Dubai International Financial Center and other landmark projects.
“Today, cities across the region are competing in tourism, developing their airports and attracting talent because they have seen that this model is possible.”
Al Gergawi added that His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid had built a model city that attracts dreamers, talent and companies because people find security, opportunity, respect for work and recognition of merit in Dubai.
He said His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid had also built a city where people from different religions, cultures and nationalities could live with dignity and tolerance, creating an environment where everyone could aspire to a better future and a society that recognises the value of every individual.
“His Highness was always in the field, testing, asking questions and following up on the smallest details. It was often said that people’s satisfaction is an unattainable goal but His Highness taught us that it is a goal we must strive to achieve,” said Al Gergawi.
“That spirit spread to the business community, the private sector and young people, until speed, ambition and achievement became part of Dubai’s DNA.”
He added that His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid had promoted a culture around striving to be number one, a constant ambition that continues to drive the emirate forward.
“Today, Dubai-it has become synonymous with achievement and action. Dubai means delivering something exceptional with precision and excellence, in record time. This is the culture His Highness created.”
‘Bringing Out the Best in Every One of Us’
Reflecting on more than three decades of working closely with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Al Gergawi said he had been fortunate to witness both the leader’s decisiveness and courage and the humanity behind his leadership.
“I saw him make the most difficult decisions. I saw his courage when others hesitated, and his swift action when others waited,” said Al Gergawi.
“I also saw His Highness Sheikh Mohammed for the great human he is. I saw him follow up on the treatment of a child he did not know. I saw him ask about people in need and follow up on a water project in a remote village in Africa. I saw the leader who wanted to be first in everything, and the human who would stop for the sake of one person.”
He added that many people in the audience would have their own memories of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, a personal encounter, a word of encouragement or an opportunity that changed something in their lives.
“Perhaps the greatest impact of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is that he brought out the best in every one of us.” Al Gergawi delivered a message of thanks from team Dubai to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.
“Your Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, you have written to us about some of what life has taught you. Today, we want to tell you some of what you have taught us. You taught us that big dreams are possible, that being number one is a mindset, that people are the greatest investment, that government exists to serve people, and that we do not wait for the future, we create it,” he said.
“Today, on behalf of Team Dubai, on behalf of the generations who have worked with you and the generations beginning their journey alongside you, we say: thank you, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid. Thank you for believing in us, raising the bar for our ambitions and enabling us to achieve what we once thought impossible. You built a city we are proud of, a society in which we feel confident about the future of our children, and a model that has inspired the region and the world.”
He added: “Our message to you today is not simply one of thanks. It is a pledge to preserve what you have built and carry the responsibility entrusted to us, just as you taught us. Because the greatest way to thank a leader who has devoted his life to work is to continue working. And the greatest message we can offer you is not what we say today, but what we do. We will remain what you have always wanted us to be: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid’s team.”