A quick post:
Sheikh Mohamed has always been in my eyes someone that had Emirati interests at heart. Despite what I feel is a wall of PR that has been built around him, there haven't been too many instances where I've heard him speak about foreign policy issues that could affect me. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard of an interview he had on BBC talking about a wide-range of topics, including foreign policy.
Part of the interview can be found here.
His views on Iran, though I've heard them before from the minister of economy, were refreshing. "Remove the sanctions and everyone will benefit". Dubai has had its fair share of hardship in dealing with the sanctions. Our neighbor, and one of our top trading partners with a population of 80m people basically disappeared. A simple statement that remained unsaid for far too long.
His other views on helping alleviate suffering but not interfering in regional politics made me proud to be an Emirati, and had me feeling ever-so-slightly safer.
As an average joe (or Ali in this case), isn't it in my best interests to be less like Qatar, and more like Switzerland when it comes to regional politics?
I could go on about the rest of the interview, but I think I've made my point. I stand tall with a leader like him looking after my people.
Sheikh Mohamed has always been in my eyes someone that had Emirati interests at heart. Despite what I feel is a wall of PR that has been built around him, there haven't been too many instances where I've heard him speak about foreign policy issues that could affect me. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard of an interview he had on BBC talking about a wide-range of topics, including foreign policy.
Part of the interview can be found here.
His views on Iran, though I've heard them before from the minister of economy, were refreshing. "Remove the sanctions and everyone will benefit". Dubai has had its fair share of hardship in dealing with the sanctions. Our neighbor, and one of our top trading partners with a population of 80m people basically disappeared. A simple statement that remained unsaid for far too long.
His other views on helping alleviate suffering but not interfering in regional politics made me proud to be an Emirati, and had me feeling ever-so-slightly safer.
As an average joe (or Ali in this case), isn't it in my best interests to be less like Qatar, and more like Switzerland when it comes to regional politics?
I could go on about the rest of the interview, but I think I've made my point. I stand tall with a leader like him looking after my people.
