His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Their Highnesses Supreme Council Members and Rulers of the Emirates, met in Abu Dhabi Sunday with Lt. General Ahmed Qayed Saleh, Algerian Deputy Defense Minister and Chief-of-Staff of the Algerian People’s National Army, who conveyed greetings of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria on the 47th anniversary of the UAE National Day.
The meeting was attended by Their Highnesses Supreme Council Members and Rulers Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi of Sharjah, Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi of Ajman, Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi of Fujairah, Sheikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla of Umm Al Quwain, and Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi of Ras Al Khaimah.
Their Highnesses expressed appreciation to the leadership and people of Algeria on their noble brotherly feelings towards the UAE and praised relations between the two countries, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.
The two sides engaged on cordial talks on the ways to further relations and cooperation between the two brotherly countries.
Major General Qayed lauded his country’s special relations with the UAE and extended his greetings on the National Day, wishing the people of the UAE further progress and prosperity, under the wise leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The UAE leaders also attended the official celebration of the 47th National Day on Sunday evening at the Zayed Sport City in Abu Dhabi.
Held under the theme ‘This is Zayed. This is the UAE’, the celebration, attended by over 22,000 people, opened with a tribute to the rich legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, marking 100 years since his birth. The event also saw rare photos, chronicling Sheikh Zayed’s life, his love to the nature and the people, displayed for the first time.
The event also highlighted poems written by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and other poems. One of the poems, written by the late Mohammed bin Hamm, a long time companion of the UAE Founding Father, in which he referred to how Sheikh Zayed looked like his grandfather Zayed the First and how he inherited from him the leadership qualities.
Also highlighted were Sheikh Zayed’s relations with his late mother Sheikha Salama bint Butti and how she helped shape his strong personality and his wisdom.
As the National Anthem played, a panoramic human map of the UAE federation map, as envisaged by Sheikh Zayed and the other founding fathers, was formed by 300 of the UAE Armed Forces personnel.
The event also saw statements by His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan, and other UAE distinguished figures.
