2020 — the ultimate preparation for the UAE’s 50th

The end of every year is always a time for reflection, a moment to take stock of achievements as well as lessons to learn. It’s also an opportunity to make resolutions for the year ahead.

2020 did not go quite as planned. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted almost every aspect of our lives. Each country has its own characteristics and faced different challenges, so it is often unhelpful to compare performance internationally. However, it is clear the UAE has handled the crisis well.

When I reflect on why that is, there are three things that stand out: Preparedness, agility, and decisive leadership. You cannot control events, but you can control how you respond to them. From the early introduction of masks, to the widespread delivery of tests and overseas aid, the UAE’s response was defined by speed and vigor.

It helped that we were ready when the first case arrived — no one saw COVID-19 coming, but the systems and structures the UAE already had in place were hugely valuable in mitigating the outcome.

This time last year, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, laid out his plans to make 2020 the “Year of Preparation” for the nation’s 50th anniversary in 2021. How prescient this announcement turned out to be.

2020 has provided the ultimate assessment of preparedness for our next 50 years. It has tested our strength, our character, and our values. Over the decades, but especially this year, the world has come to see the UAE as a highly spirited and practical nation — one well placed to overcome uncertainty and adversity in a region that can be hostile, both geopolitically and physically.

So while the pandemic took up much of our time in 2020, what defined us — and for me, the year itself — was the stunning list of achievements attained despite the virus.

From the early introduction of masks, to the widespread delivery of tests and overseas aid, the UAE’s response was defined by speed and vigor.

Hend Al-Otaiba

The UAE became the first country in the region to launch a peaceful nuclear energy program at Barakah; sent the first Arab probe to Mars; orchestrated one of the largest-ever peacetime movements of food and medical supplies around the world; hosted the first Phase III inactivated COVID-19 vaccine trials; created peace and new opportunities with Israel; launched a bid for membership of the UN Security Council; and represented GCC, small, and underrepresented states at the G20.

I’m also very proud of the continued progress made to empower women during 2020, including the Global Women’s Forum held in February, the expansion of the Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Women Peace and Security Initiative for women from developing countries to train and serve as peacekeepers, and the introduction of new progressive laws on inheritance, divorce, and crimes against women.

Having said all of the above, I won’t be too upset to bid farewell to 2020. Despite the milestones, many people were badly impacted during 2020 — financially, emotionally, and physically. The UAE still lost souls to the disease, and every one of these is a tragedy.

I’m ready to welcome 2021, especially with the global distribution of billions of vaccines through Abu Dhabi’s Hope Consortium logistics hub. Expo 2020 Dubai, delayed a year by the pandemic, will finally open its doors in the world’s greatest show of human brilliance and achievement. It will be the first World Expo hosted in the Middle East, with over 200 countries and organizations participating.

The Hope Probe will reach its Mars orbit in February and begin beaming back a range of new data that will excite scientists and inspire a new generation of Arab astronauts. And, of course, the UAE will mark five decades of successful union, through which a regional trading community developed into a global financial and tourism hub.

As we turn the page on another historic year, there is so much to be proud of and so much more to be excited about ahead of us.

• Hend Al-Otaiba is Director of Strategic Communications at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation