'UAE Rulers create the change they want to see in the world'

Ram Buxani with his book Taking the High Road during a panel discussion hosted by the National Media Council in Abu Dhabi.

 The UAE Rulers are making the change they want to see in the world and this is the secret of country's towering success, a renowned Indian community leader said.
"(When) You change after the change, you survive. You change with the change, you succeed. But if you cause the change, you lead. And this is how the UAE has become a leader as they are causing the change," Dubai-based NRI entrepreneur Ram Buxani said while talking about his book Taking the High Road at a panel discussion hosted by National Media Council (NMC) in Abu Dhabi on the sidelines of Abu Dhabi International Book fair (ADIBF).
The setting of Buxani's book is about his career in the UAE over the past six decades and the bilateral relations. The ITL Cosmos Group chairman recollected how Dubai rulers wooed Indian merchants with tax-free offers.
"Earlier most Indians would go to Iran for pearl trade business. Soon, taxation was introduced there. It was then Indian merchants came to do business in the UAE without paying any taxes."
He noted the visionary plan by the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum to develop Dubai Creek.
"It was a determined move." Buxani noted how Rs300,000 was raised to realise the Creek through sale of bonds. "The Creek today is worth billions. The transformation shows the will to achieve," he said.
Rolling back years, Buxani recollected how his elder brother in Hong Kong had shouted at him for accepting a job offer in Dubai - a place which none had heard about.
"I was looking for a job and saw an advertisement in a Bombay newspaper. I was selected and they said the posting is in Dubai. I hadn't heard about this place but I accepted the job."
He also lauded the level of tolerance shown by the UAE leaders to allow expats to be part of the transformation.
"The UAE is now synonymous with tolerance and moderation."
Buxani, however, lamented the neglect shown by Indian politicians towards expats in the UAE. He ended the discussion with a message to everyone.
"Don't compete, don't copy but create. Once you are competing or copying then you have already considering the other is superior to you. We are talking about innovation, so we should create for others to copy," the top Indian businessman who made all his wealth in Dubai.

When Dubai had no cars