Military service ‘will bring countless benefits’, Sheikh Nahyan says

The government minister said the military service draft law would be an important change for young Emirati men and women.

ABU DHABI // Military service for young Emiratis will form a key aspect of a new National Youth Strategy.

Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, said the government was determined to help Emiratis achieve their full potential.

“We believe that the military experience will bring countless benefits to all concerned,” said Sheikh Nahyan, during a meeting of the British Business Group in the capital on Tuesday.

“We must foresee those benefits and plan to use them effectively. To be sure, national military service will have a prominent role in our National Youth Strategy.”

The minister told the group that the military service draft law would be an important change for young Emirati men and women, ste news agency Wam reported.

An important aspect of life in the UAE was the welcoming nature of the country, which people from many different countries, backgrounds and cultures called home, he said.

“Their comfort results from their recognition of universal virtues exhibited by Emiratis with whom they come in contact,” Sheikh Nahyan said. “At the Ministry of Culture, we believe that the many virtues exhibited by most Emiratis define the Emirati identity.”

This was a reflection of the beliefs and actions of Sheikh Zayed, he said, adding: “We are adopting the concept of ‘Culture for All.’

“All means all segments of society – all ages, all nationalities, all regions of the country.

“We aim to encourage and support expressions of all cultures within our country, united as we are by a respect for universal virtues that we would all like to possess.”

To achieve this, the ministry would aim to make the UAE the centre for the use and understanding of Arabic and also promote Islamic civilisation.

Another cultural goal would be to build on the foundations and success laid by the country’s leadership.

Dubai’s Expo 2020 would be used as an important platform to improve cultural understanding between the countries that exhibit, and the UAE.

“We aim to promote and support all of those initiatives and to add some of our own,” Sheikh Nahyan said. “We will found centres of creativity that are inviting to artists from the UAE and from countries abroad, centres where they can learn, create and nurture their imaginations together.”