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UAE — at a Glance
WHETHER you drive a car, take a train or go by air. there is a good chance that the fuel used In your transport comes from the United Arab Emirates.
It is one of the world's major oil producers, with the second largest reserves in the Middle East, enough for another 200 years of production. With around 1.9 million Inhabitants, the country occupies part of the eastern fringe of the Arabian Peninsula, the Horn of Arabia. At 80,000 sq. km. in area, it Is about the size of Portugal. Last year's Gross Domestic Product of about 31 billion gives its people one of the highest living standards in the world, while at the same time, this still developing country is a major international aid donor. Contributing more per capita than many developed states, it has given well over five billion dollars in grants, aid and soft loans to other states since It was established 20 years ago.
The People
The indigenous people of the country are Arabs, whose ancestors arrived tn the area 2,000 or 3,000 years ago. Prehistory goes back over 10,000 years, to Neolithic times. By around 3000 BC. a culture emerged that was linked by trade with Moenjadaro in the Indus valley and to Mesopotamia, to which it exported copper from the mountains. Elaborate burial chambers. ancient towers and temples are testimony to a rich and interesting past.
The national language is Arabic, while the expatriate communities also speak English. Urdu. Malayalam. Filipino and Farsi.
The religion of the state is Islam, which first arrived In the region during the lifetime of the Prophet Mohammed (SM), and which provides the underlying Inspiration for all legislation. Foreign communities of Christians and other denominations practise their religions freely within the UAE's ' heterogeneous and harmonious society.
The Land
The climate consists of two seasons, a long, hot and humid summer from May to October, and a mild, pleasant winter, when shamals, the moist northern winds, bring rainfall which is usually slight along the coast and on the plains, and heavier in the mountains. The summer peaks between
by nearly two and a half million barrels of oil production a day. the Government of the United Arab Emirates has created one of the finest. Infrastructures to be found anywhere In the world. Ribbons of all-weather metalled roads criss-cross the country providing fast intercity access for the estimated 300,000 vehicles that provide the largest single means of in-lernal transport.
The telecommunications network, linked to global satellites, is among the most efficient in the world, a key facility for the many multinational companies that have set up their base In the Emirates aftet upheavals elsewhere in the region.
Local telephone calls are free, as is education and medical care, while citizens enjoy all the security of a classic welfare state. Including generous state pensions and, for those who need IL free housing.
The quality of medical care at the Government's 40 hospitals is world class, with one doctor for every 933 of the population, and a bed for every 250.
Import tariffs are low, and the country has become a re-Sonal entrepot, with extensive ee trade zones In which well over a billion US dollars have been Invested. Annual trade continues to increase, and despite the 1990-1991 Gulf conflict. it reached during that period an all-time high of over a hundred billion dirhams.
Industrialisation is well under way. At Ruwais, in the west of Abu Dhabi, there are a major petrochemical complex and an oil refinery, while at Jebel All is one of the world's most efficient aluminium smelters. Dubai's Dry Dock is of similar status.
Both local and foreign merchants thrive in an atmosphere of unfettered free enterprise, while with five international airports, the UAE is linked smoothly and quickly to the rest of the globe.
Those at Abu Dhabi and Dubai each handle several million passengers a year, while the man-made harbours at Jebel Alt and Abu Dhabi's Mina Zayed are among the largest in the world. Port Rashid in Dubai and the port of Fujairah, on the UAE's Gulf of Oman coast, are both ranked among the world's top 50 container ports.
The Federation
The UAE is still a young country, comprising seven emirates which federated only
gardens and fountains.
July.'.and September, when temperatures can reach as high as 45° Celsius. Inland areas like the oasis-city of Al Ain or the mountain regions tend to be cooler or less humid than the coast, however, where summer humidity levels can reach as high as 90 per cent. The winter months, from November to April, are cooler and temperate, but with only a few days of rain.
With the wealth generated
as recently as 1971. Two decades is a mere micro-dot on the canvas of time, but as part of the Arab nation, the Emirates is as old as history itself. The Issues it faces are those simultaneously of growth and renewal, and this challenge is met squarely with a blend of modern and traditional solutions. The country's self-evident prosperity, internal stability and its excellent relations with its neighbours
are proof that the blend is a highly successful one.
The capital of the country is Abu Dhabi, also the name of the largest of the seven emirates, in which the bulk of the country's oil is produced. Abu Dhabi means 'Father (or possession) of the Gazelle,' and the legend is that a wandering band of nomadic bedouin hunters, hard on the heels of an elusive gazelle, came upon an unexpected spring of sweet water on an offshore island. Led to this precious source of water by the animal, the hunters named the settlement which grew up around it Abu Dhabi. ’
The other six Emirates, in order of size, are, like Abu Dhabi named after their capitals, Dubai, the commercial centre. Sharjah, Ras Al Khalmah, Fujairah, Umm Al Qaiwain and Ajman. Several other towns, like Al Ain, are also growing fast.
The structure of the federation itself Is highly flexible. The Cabinet system of Government reflects both the consensual nature of governance and the full utilisation of leadership talent. There is a -elearly defined consultative
process based upon an ancient tradition of political consensus, reinformed by the Islamic principle of "shura", whereby all policy making Is exposed to the moderating processes of collective wisdom. The 40-member Federal National Council, whose members are drawn from among the most experienced and trusted members of society, sits for the legislative season in Abu . Dhabi, and has the duty of approving all new laws. It may . also initiate legislation, summon Ministers for questioning, debate matters of public concern and advise the cabinet on Important Issues.
The Role of Women
The UAE's women, urged on by the President, and led by his wife Sheikha Fatma bint Mubarak, take an active part in national development, and are now playing an Increasingly important role, consistent with the state's culture and traditions, in government, commerce and the professions.
Since 1986, the ratio of female to male students at the Emirates University in Al Ain,
has been two to one, and by the end of 199), over 5,300 women had graduated In a wide range of ^isc^p lines. A 80 per cent of the citizens employed in the Ministries of Health and Education were
Sports and Tourism
Sports and tourism have joined hands in the Emirates, which now boasts. In Dubai, two of the finest golf courses In the world. Top golf tourna-
Twenty years ago. agriculture In the Emirates was limited to a few scattered oases or mountain settlements. Now the desert soil sprouts lilies and chrysanthemums, the latter being exported from Fujairah as far away as Britain, while there is a surplus of vegetables exported to the rest of the region every year. Green .parks, waving corn and groves ’of lemons and pomegranates reach up Into the mountains.
and away, Into the edge of the Empty Quarter, one of the most forbidding places on earth.
It has been an expensive process, costing billions of dirhams, but the result has been worthwhile, particularly tn the taming of the desert. Nearly 80. million trees, in-
to self-sufficiency in a number of salad crops.
The greening of the Emirates has done wonders for the area's ecology. In the past, migrating birds had to look hard for odd hospitable tree or valley, but rolling parks and fields in the cities and the countryside now attract over 360 species of birds, many coming from as far away as Siberia. Many are now staying to breed, feeding on the plants .
cluding some 18 million date palms, have been planted, 280,000 hectares of land have been brought under the plough, while afforestation schemes cover a further 100,000 hectares, a barrier of green against the spreading of the desert sand. From almost nothing, despite a population increase of ten fold in 20 years, the country Is now near
and seeds, or on the smaller animals that, like them, have found the newly-green country to be an attractive habital.
ments, (the most recent of which was Won by Spaniard seven Ballesteros), as well as other international events in the spheres of chess, hockey, snooker, cricket, football and powerboat racing, bring thousands of visitors a year to the country, to relax and to enjoy traditional Arab hospitality at its best.
A magnificent network of hotels, many run by top international chains, contribute to the infrastructure for tourism, and the number of overseas visitors rises every year.