DUBAI, 7 November 2004 — New United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Khalifa ibn Zayed Al-Nahayan yesterday received a “pledge of loyalty” from a younger brother bypassed in succession arrangements, a move which seemingly refutes claims about possible differences on the issue.
“As I pledge obedience and loyalty to you, I pray the Almighty to make you succeed in what is good (for the country) and guide your steps toward right and justice,” Sheikh Sultan ibn Zayed Al-Nahayan wrote in a letter to Khalifa.
“You are the best successor to the best predecessor,” said Sultan, referring to Sheikh Zayed ibn Sultan Al-Nahayan, who died on Tuesday after more than 30 years at the helm of the Gulf federation of seven emirates.
“I congratulate you on the valuable trust placed in you by your brethren the rulers of the Emirates and its noble people by choosing you as head of state. It is a trust you deserve,” he added in the letter.
Sheikh Khalifa, the eldest of Zayed’s 19 sons, automatically succeeded his father as ruler of Abu Dhabi, the federation’s largest and richest member, and was promptly chosen by the rulers of the six other members as head of state.
Khalifa himself was succeeded as Abu Dhabi crown prince by his half-brother Sheikh Mohammad ibn Zayed Al-Nahayan, who had been appointed as his deputy by Sheikh Zayed in November 2003 despite him being younger than Sultan.
Sheikh Sultan retained his post of deputy prime minister in a Cabinet reshuffle on the eve of Sheikh Zayed’s death. But diplomats here had said the fact that he was sidelined in arrangements for the succession could raise a problem in future.
“It is our duty to the people of the Emirates to ... do our best to preserve (Zayed’s) achievements, which are a source of pride ... clinging to our unity and the elements of our strength,” Sultan wrote yesterday.
Meanwhile, French President Jacques Chirac headed home yesterday from Abu Dhabi where he had offered his condolences on the death of Sheikh Zayed and invited his successor to Paris, a diplomatic source said.
Chirac headed to Al-Bateen Palace straight after his arrival on Friday to meet Sheikh Khalifa. Sheikh Zayed “was a friend and his sincere efforts succeeded in boosting the solid relations between France and the UAE”, Chirac told Khalifa in the presence of senior Emirati officials.
Sheikh Khalifa said he was “deeply touched” by Chirac’s visit “which confirms the friendship binding the two countries,” the spokesman for the French presidential palace, Jerome Bonnafont, said in Paris.
He said Chirac discussed with Khalifa bilateral ties and the situation in the region, and invited him to France.
The French leader departed early from a European Union summit in Brussels to make it to Abu Dhabi on time before the period set to receive condolences ended Friday night.
