'Sheikh Mohammed one of the wisest men in the region'

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has been referred to as among the wisest men in the Middle East region.

Writing in a column in The New York Times international edition, Thomas L. Friedman cites a series of tweets by the Dubai Ruler when writing about the political situation in the Middle East.

"Interestingly, last August, Sheikh Mohammed -- one of the wisest men in the region -- put out a series of tweets that caught many eyes in Saudi. One said the Arab world had 'a management crisis, not a crisis of resources. Look at China and Japan... where they are now, even without natural resources. There are countries that possess oil, gas, water and human capital but lack development and even cannot provide basic services, such as roads and electricity, to their people'," Friedman wrote in his column.

He also praised Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, callig him "the only one in his family who would have initiated vital social, religious and economic reforms that he's dared to do all at once."