The coronavirus pandemic proved that the UAE is ready to face any challenge, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed said on Sunday.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation made the comments in a keynote address to the nation’s young people during the Mohamed bin Zayed Majlis for Future Generations.
He said some events could shake the world, such as the spread of Covid-19, “whose global impact is equivalent to that of a world war”.
The majlis, an event held to inspire thousands of young students, was held on Sunday. Its organisers, the Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi, sought to focus on the post-pandemic world and how to "thrive in the next normal".
“[The pandemic] forced many countries to rethink and reshape their future plans due to the hit their economies took and the rapid rise in unemployment," Sheikh Abdullah said.
The world is filled with average achievers. But you live in a country which was never mediocre
“A few countries took the blow and went forward with their plans because they had contingency plans in place that enabled them to deal with sudden shifts.
“It is one of the reasons why our country remained steadfast,” he said.
The crisis showed which nations were capable of responding to change, the minister said.
“Even changes that others found difficult were easy for us to handle. We have chosen to make sound decisions along the right path.”
Some have said the UAE is too ambitious, Sheikh Abdullah said.
"But if one looks at the UAE 50 years ago and looks at the development and progress it has achieved today, they would realise our goals are far from exaggerations,” he said.
"Within only 50 years, the UAE has succeeded in conquering the impossible. Therefore, when our leadership plans the next 50 years, it is because they realise nothing remains impossible when you have a feasible plan and the entire nation works together to achieve it.
"Our history involves several challenges where the UAE proved its ability in crisis management.”
Earlier, Sheikh Abdullah began the four-hour event by taking questions from students in a park in Abu Dhabi. Among the topics covered was stressing that there must be no stigma about mental health issues in UAE society.
"We also need to understand that anyone can experience mental health problems. There is no shame in having them. Actually, it is a shame to ignore them," he said.
"We need to put more effort into studying these problems and raising social awareness."
Turning to country’s young people, Sheikh Abdullah said they must invest in themselves and leverage the wealth and resources they have access to.
“Go into new professional fields that keep pace with the requirements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the future," he said.
“Seek to correct your mistakes, if needed. Nothing can stop you if you combine knowledge with a competitive spirit and the desire to progress and achieve.”
The UAE’s young people have been presented with an opportunity they “must not miss out on,” Sheikh Abdullah said.
Settling for mediocrity is a step towards failure, he said.
“Those who do not succeed are quick to waver when facing challenges.
“This is what happened in many countries around the world when the Covid-19 pandemic started,” he said.
Countries that had invested in their healthcare systems were more successful in tackling the pandemic.
“Success requires dedicated effort and is not handed to you on a platter,” Sheikh Abdullah said.
Young people will face fierce competition, and only those who put in 10 times the effort will win, he added.
“The world is filled with average achievers. It is easy to be an average person, and there is nothing wrong with that.
“But you live in a country which was never mediocre. A country whose contributions stretch from Mars’s orbit, to disaster and war-stricken countries the UAE has aided.
“A country that continued to grow and thrive for 50 years, despite all the problems, wars, epidemics and crises seen around the world.”
Those achievements did not occur by chance, he said.
“They were made by people who served our country, who have made and continue to make 10 times the effort.”
This is the UAE’s young people’s chance to step up and continue that success, Sheikh Abdullah said.
“With your efforts, the UAE will become even greater and will achieve a higher status in the next 50 years, and even after that,” he added.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Brief scores:
Toss: Northern Warriors, elected to field first
Bengal Tigers 130-1 (10 ov)
Roy 60 not out, Rutherford 47 not out
Northern Warriors 94-7 (10 ov)
Simmons 44; Yamin 4-4
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
Palestine and Israel - live updates
NBA Finals results
Game 1: Warriors 124, Cavaliers 114
Game 2: Warriors 122, Cavaliers 103
Game 3: Cavaliers 102, Warriors 110
Game 4: In Cleveland, Sunday (Monday morning UAE)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mane points for safe home colouring
- Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
- Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
- When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
- Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
- If you decide to be brave and go for it, seek professional advice and use a semi-permanent colour
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
