The UAE's progress and its opening up to the world is something it owes to its Islamic and Arab identity, UAE's Foreign Minister His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan affirmed while addressing The Government Summit 2015.<

In the presence of Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Sheikh Abdullah said: ''Though the UAE is small in size, it has a far-reaching impact on scientific progress. A desert in the past, the UAE is today a lush green land of bounties, high-rise buildings, renaissance and modernity.''

Speaking at the plenary session titled '’#WeTheUAE’,' the foreign minister said many countries around the world had kept asking questions about the secret behind the resounding success and dynamic leadership the UAE displayed in a short span of time and how the UAE defied the negative impressions and stereotyped thoughts about countries in the region prevalent then.

''Many people across the world are looking for the recipe of success that the young state has achieved in just 43 years, something that should have taken a long time. How did seven individual emirates unite together under a common determination and transform in a record time into an attractive destination for creative minds and talents from different countries of the world?"

Serving a message to those who think that the identity of the UAE's Muslim people and existence of the State amidst an atmosphere of turbulence pose challenges to the UAE, Sheikh Abdullah said: ''The State has been and will remain the land of opportunities and the UAE people with their Islamic identity will always be messengers of peace and a source of stories of success and inspiration.''

The UAE leadership, he stressed, was strongly committed to make the UAE an oasis of security and stability, and had promoted the concept of a society where equality and justice prevail.

Commending the UAE's wise leadership, Sheikh Abdullah said it had succeeded in bringing about welfare to the members of the community, making the UAE a nation of happiness for both citizens and expatriate residents.

According to him, the human being is the source of civilization and the most valuable wealth, adding that the UAE's success story is about the Emirati human being, citing words of the late founding father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan: ''Man is the essence of every civilizational process and is pivotal to every process of progress... the human being is the building block in nation building.''

Giving an example of the ambition and determination of the UAE citizen, Sheikh Abdullah spoke about young Emirati girl Rawda Al Boum and showed a video clip of a university female student who dreamed of being an ambassador of the UAE at the United Nations. The ambitious girl, he indicated, didn't even wait to complete her study and engaged in field work and took the initiative by conducting during her vacations a series of humanitarian relief missions to Malawi and Cambodia though there was no diplomatic representation for the UAE there.

The UAE Muslim girl, he continued, provided assistance to the needy and poor and participated in the building of orphanages.

''Rawda is an example of the spirit of the generous UAE people, who defy barriers and burdens and transform challenges into opportunities for initiative and achievement,'' he said,

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