The Chinese president and Members of the European Parliament were the latest overseas leaders to offer well wishes to UAE president HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan following his stroke at the weekend.
President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, expressed his best wishes for a speedy recovery and good health for Sheikh Khalifa, WAM reported.
Sheikh Sultan bin Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Director of the Department of East Asia and Pacific at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, received the message at his office in the Ministry’s headquarters when he met with the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in the United Arab Emirates, Huang Jiemin.
Well wishes were also received from the Delegation for Relations with the Arab Peninsula of the European Parliament’s Foreign Committee, which also expressed best wishes of good health for the UAE leader.
The delegates said in their message that “Sheikh Khalifa had set a role model of the successful leader, who placed his country among the ranks of advanced nations.”
The officials made their remarks during a session of discussion with their UAE counterparts.
Earlier this week, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, said he had received telephone calls from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, King Mohammed VI of Morocco, Interim President of Egypt Adly Mansour and President Moncef Marzouki of Tunisia, enquiring about the UAE leader’s health.
Calls were also received from President Abd Raboo Mansour Hadi of Yemen and HRH Prince Saoud Al Faisal, Saudi Foreign Minister, while messages were sent from HRH Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, HRH Prince Fahad bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, Governor of Makkah, and HH Sheikh Mohammed Al Khaled Al Sabah, Kuwaiti Interior Minister.
The Arab League Secretary General, Nabil al Arabi, also expressed his wishes for a speedy recovery.
The presidential affairs ministry reported Sheikh Khalifa suffered a stroke early on Friday which “required doctors to perform surgery”. Authorities assured well wishers of the stable condition of President Khalifa and thanked them for “their sincere wishes for speedy recovery”.
During his recovery, the UAE will be run by Vice President, Prime Minister and Dubai Ruler, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Sheikh Mohammed, 64, officially accented to the position of Dubai ruler in 2006 after the death of his brother Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
In his time at the helm, he has been credited with shaping Dubai into the modern, global city of today. Projects such as the creation of the Palm Island, iconic Burj Al Arab hotel and the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, all happened on his watch.
Sheikh Mohammed founded Emirates airline, now one of the biggest in the world, and has also spearheaded the development of Dubai’s sector-based hubs, including internet city, media city, knowledge village and, soon, the Dubai design district.
Mohammed Bin Rashid City, which was announced last year, is an estimated $100bn project that encompasses 4msqm for the first phase alone.
He is also responsible for launching Dubai’s successful Expo2020 bid.
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