Saudi National Day cause for regional celebration

A local English language daily has said that the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are neighbours who share far more than a border and a language.

"The two nations were founded 39 years apart, under very different circumstances. But as celebrations across the UAE marking Saudi Arabia’s 88th National Day tomorrow attest, the two neighbours share much more than a 500-kilometre border," said The National in an editorial today.

The paper went on to say, "Bound in strategic partnership since 1981 as members of the Gulf Co-operation Council, above all the two are united by the timeless commonalities of language, heritage and faith. They are also linked by oil-driven economies and a mutual determination to diversify away from reliance on the substance that transformed their fortunes in their early days.

"Over the past few years, the familial bonds tying together the UAE and Saudi Arabia have grown ever closer. The first meeting of the Saudi-Emirati Co-ordination Council in June signalled increased collaboration in defence, crime, politics and culture.

"The march to modernity has seen both making great strides but the past year has been a significant one for Saudi Arabia.

"Few could have predicted the sweeping social reforms spearheaded by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman under the direction of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, but they have been transformative.

"Of course, Saudi Arabia has a unique responsibility to the entire Islamic world as the protector of the holy sites.

"The imperatives of modernity and the tenets of Islam can, and must, exist side by side.

The paper concluded by quoting His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, as saying, "At a time when much of the region is in disarray, the two nations’ collective ambition stands as a beacon of what Arabs can achieve when united 'with one pulse'"