Year of the 50th- UAE marks its Golden Jubilee this year

By: Omar Abdulla, Content Developer at TECHx

The UAE turns 50 this year, marking its golden jubilee. As Emirates prepares new liveries for its aircraft fleet and Expo 2020 draws near, the UAE is preparing many celebrations to commemorate its success. The past 50 years have seen a great deal of change, and the next 50 years will witness even greater changes. The UAE has been impressive in its progress since the unification of its Emirates. With over 40 years of history, the UAE has made significant contributions to medical, educational, technological and social fields. Furthermore, UAE has been one of the top tourist destinations and investment hubs in the region and internationally due to its impressive economic and urban transformations. Let’s take a look at very few of the country’s achievements. 

A few of the past achievements:

1. The world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, open to the public in 2011
2. Dubai was selected as the host city for Expo 2020
3. The world’s most generous country, and one of the safest countries
4. Launch of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Space Centre (MBRSC)
5. Launches the first Islamic and Arab probe to Mars
6. Home to the world’s largest Mall in the world, The Dubai Mall
7. Masdar City, Abu Dhabi is the world’s first zero-carbon, zero-waste, car-free city.
8. DXB Airport is the world’s busiest airport as measured by international passenger traffic.
9. Launching an Artificial Intelligence Strategy
10. Shams 1, the world’s largest solar power plant located at Madinat Zayed is inaugurated by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Putting all UAE has achieved in this article would be impossible, there are multiple milestones UAE has achieved and intends to reach in the future. Future health, education, infrastructure, tourism, science, environmental conservation, and sustainable development are all prominent examples of sustainability and progression across numerous fields.

The following are some of the milestones UAE aims to achieve:

1. The UAE Centennial Plan 2071
2. Agenda 2030 – The UAE contributes to the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals in the framework of Agenda 2030
3. Mars 2117 – establishing human settlements on the red planet by 2117
4. Hyperloop Project
5. Food Security Strategy 2051
6. Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050
7. Water Security Strategy 2036
8. Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park
9. Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030
10. National Advanced Sciences Agenda 2031

Furthermore, despite Covid 19 slowing down the world’s economy and progress, UAE, on the other hand, sent a probe to Mars, vaccinated nearly 75% of its population, gave aid to many countries, and is eager to welcome tourists from all over the world. Likewise, the UAE’s health sector is set to undergo major changes over the next few years as a result of new medical advances, science, and technologies, as well as the implementation of intelligent and specialized strategies to advance health standards by exploiting genomics and nanotechnology. Moreover, we want to provide young people with opportunities to gain skills in many rare medical disciplines so they can keep up with research progress, meet health challenges around the world, and become innovators. 

In the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan is remembered for his vision of developing, preserving peace and promoting tolerance as the nation’s features, and his vision has formed the basis of UAE government entities and the community. In the late 1970s, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan achieved an environmental miracle by converting the desert into a green haven long before the need for sustainable development was widely recognised. The UAE stands today, fifty years later, fully prepared for future development. Various sectors of the economy are flourishing simultaneously, including tourism, retail, property, manufacturing, health care, internet and high-tech. Today, oil revenues make- up under 30 per cent of the UAE’s GDP. Just as Sheikh Mohamed once said: “Human beings, their ideas, innovations, dreams, and connections, are the capital of the future. Because where great minds go today, great things will follow tomorrow.”