ABU DHABI, 2 December 2006 — The United Arab Emirates marks its 35th National Day today on an upbeat note as the country is bracing itself for a nationwide parliamentary election this month.
In a speech carried by the state news agency WAM, President Sheikh Khalifa ibn Zayed Al-Nahayan paid homage to the founder of the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed ibn Sultan Al-Nahayan and other federation leaders.
He said cementing the federation and national tenacity requires enhancement of creative cooperation as currently exists between the federal and local authorities. He pledged that the upcoming elections would include measures to ensure the participation of citizens in the running of the nation.
“We shall present to the Federal National Council in its forthcoming round a proposal for revision of the UAE Constitution with the objective of reinvigorating its role and consolidating its jurisdictions to allow it to cope with the requirements of the next phase,” the president noted.
Ever since the establishment of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Abu Dhabi on May 25, 1981, UAE-Gulf relations have been driven toward promoting closer ties with culturally similar states.
The UAE has been working closely with the other GCC member countries toward achieving economic integration as well as aligning the members’ foreign policies, regional and international relations to the best interest of the region, the president said in his speech.
Joint committees and meetings have been contributing to the development of the UAE bilateral relations with the other states of the Arabian Peninsula, he added.
The UAE hosted the 26th summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Abu Dhabi on Dec. 18-19, 2005.
At the summit, which was called “Fahd Summit” in honor of the late King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, the six GCC leaders convened the organization’s Supreme Council to review a host of issues including regional security, economic integration, education reform and other issues.
The seven emirates of Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al-Quwain constitute the UAE federation. Before 1971, they were known as the Trucial States, in reference to a nineteenth-century truce between Britain and several Arab leaders.
