• Home

Partner in country's economic progress

A person who sees Abu Dhabi and the other six emirates now will not believe that such achievements could have taken place in such a short time, Ammar, an economic researcher at the Ministry of Economy, said.

"I have been living and working in the UAE since 1975. I held the post of assistant economic researcher at the National Planning Council. The development began with the declaration of the UAE federation in 1971. Life was simple and the services were not as that of today. The population of the city was less, so were the buildings. Take for instance, the Abu Dhabi Corniche, where only two buildings were set up then," he recalled.

Abu Dhabi, which is regarded as one of the world's great metropolisis, was reconstructed three times. The phases through which the city underwent a face-lift started in the 1970s, the 80s and the 90s. It has gained international acclaim for its modern look, infrastructure, green landscape, aesthetic skyscrapers and high standard of services, he said.

Ammar said the UAE had undergone several stages of growth, but it was the late Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, with his foresight and wisdom, who put the city on the world map.

It was always the endeavour of Shaikh Zayed to streamline the government machinery, introduce new specialist institutions and provide the opportunity to the private sector to work as part of an economic system, which underlined the uniqueness of the UAE compared with most of other neighbouring countries.

Most of the socio-economic decisions were related directly or indirectly with the progress and export of oil, he noted.

The period from 1975 until 1980 saw radical changes during which the per capita income reached the highest international levels with rate of economic growth reaching 23 per cent. Projects in many sectors were executed at a total cost of Dh135 billion.

The period of the 1980s and 1990s saw a remarkable increase in local production, and the value of locally produced products rose from Dh3 billion to Dh10 billion, he said. Ammar remembers the good old days when he took up the job and how the spirit of team work had prevailed, and was different.

Ammar contributed and took part in three census in the UAE in 1985, 1995 and 2005. He also worked in publishing many annual economic reports and the yearly book on the economic developments in the UAE. The resources we had then were not as of today, he said adding that the software had not yet beem introduced in the offices of the government departments. But what remains as immortal is the sense of fraternity and love.

"Superiors and bosses were never bossing around and arrogant," he said. ''They were friendly, supportive and helpful.''

"Working on counting used to extend for long hours at night, and I still remember very well how we sat on the floor to have our dinner while on duty," he recounted. "Life was simple and easy as the good-hearted people here. Our family ties are as strong as ever, and though my children have returned home to Egypt, they still remember the good old days." My sons Mohammed and Ali have graduated as engineers but are still glued to the place, the cradle of their childhood and their friends. They keep visiting the UAE every year, as it is their second home. Thirty years have passed as if they were 30 months, and each moment I lived here is engraved indelibly in my mind. Life may be about give and take, joy and sorrow' to many, but Ammar is ''indebted to this great country, which gives me a lot. I'm happy to reciprocate by extending my experience to the new generation of this country.''

• UAE