FNC member has additional duties as speaker of Arab Parliament

Ahmed Al Jarwan uses his position in the FNC to represent the UAE abroad and tries to focus 'on what will serve its people'.

Ahmed Al Jarwan is a multilingual military man, pilot and diplomat. Courtesy Ahmed Al Jarwan

ABU DHABI // For one Federal National Council member, his role outside the council chambers has a farther reach.

Soon after Ahmed Al Jarwan was elected to the FNC, he was elected by the Arab Parliament to be its speaker.

The multilingual military man, pilot and diplomat began his journey first at the Armed Forces, where he took a number of leading positions. The Government then sent Mr Al Jarwan to France to study aeronautical engineering. He was sent to Egypt and the US to prepare him to become a UAE ambassador.

But before that happened, the FNC elections came up. With the support of his wife and with a growing network of friends through his years of service inside and outside the country – along with a side job as the head of Sharjah’s classical car museum – he entered the race.

“I found the golden opportunity in front of me to return the favour to my country,” he said. “My wife was a strong supporter. She stood by me along the way.”

Once Mr Al Jarwan won a seat to the council, he was astounded by the leadership’s close relations and follow-up on the council’s work.

“The structure of the UAE is quite unique,” he said. “Relations between the citizen and the leader is a family one. They are our family, our friends, our relatives. This all reflects in the solidarity of the society. But it also doesn’t stop a person from asking for more.”

He said as the country’s foremost mandate was development, the debate was open on how to improve current standards in fields that were lacking.

“For example, with health,” he said. “The country has provided the best available hospitals and services, but what would be better would be a comprehensive medical insurance for nationals. We work for the better.”

The country’s development is a success story known to all Arabs and their generosity and aid to the Arab world has a strong resonance throughout the region.

Mr Al Jarwan believes this is why he was elected as speaker in the Arab Parliament, the voice of 350 million Arabs.

“The biggest challenge for the Arab Parliament today is that the Arab world is passing through rough tides,” he said. “The Arab world is passing through grim times. The Arab nations are united, but they are facing certain dilemmas.”

He said he focused on keeping topics in the Arab Parliament away from politics and instead on issues that united them further, such as the unison stance on Palestine, denouncing and fighting terrorism, and poverty and illiteracy.

“I try to take the Arab Parliament away from politics and focused on what will serve its people,” he said. “Any national wants to live, have a good school for their children, a hospital with good services, an income. This is my challenge, to keep the focus away from politics.”

Mr Al Jarwan, an active and strong voice in the council, said the majority of his council work was representing the UAE in the Arab Parliament and overseas visits.

“In the FNC I have been a member of several committees, including the education committee and the human rights committee,” he said. “ But my work in the FNC is mostly representing the UAE abroad.”

Preparing for his fourth year on the council, Mr Al Jarwan looks forward to a more refined eagerness from members.

“It is normal that the first year comes with a different kind of eagerness,” he said. “By the second year after reaching decision-makers and seeing how the Government works, the council members become more aware of the kind of questions they need to pass on. The questions are more topical.

For example, building a road from Fujairah to Abu Dhabi, the Government cannot execute such a plan without thorough planning, which is what members realise more so today than before.”

His three years in the FNC have taught Mr Al Jarwan that no decision is made in the UAE without proper assessment, study, debate, scrutiny and going through several channels.

It is also crucial for members to be well aware of all inside planning and political regional developments, he said.

“I would be honoured to be in the FNC for another four-year term,” he said. “I take pride in working in the FNC. I consider myself lucky to have been elected to be a member.”