Golden visa

Recently, the UAE has announced that outstanding professionals and students with brilliant academic record are eligible to apply for its 10-year golden residency visa.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice-president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, in his tweet, expressed that the golden visa advantage also extends to spouses and children. "We are keen to embrace talent that drives future development and this is only the beginning," he stated.

The UAE came into existence 24 years after the independence of Pakistan. The Emirates Airlines was founded with the professional support of Pakistani pilots and aviation experts, who were once employees of our national airline PIA. Pakistani labourers also played a pivotal role in the construction of the world's best infrastructure that includes multi-storey buildings and network of roads connecting Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and other Emirati states.

Historically, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, founding father of the UAE and first president of the country, laid the foundation of the UAE in 1971 while keeping a modern lifestyle in mind. The great Sheikh Zayed wanted to transform his country into the most favourite destination for all nationalities by eliminating all kinds of discrimination and biases.

Today, the UAE is known as the region's most stable economic power due to its attractive foreign investment policies, best career opportunities and impressive lifestyle. However, in my view, its main strength is the state’s policy to promote a culture of tolerance, brotherhood and endurance. The UAE is the only country to have a formal Ministry of Tolerance. Different positive social initiatives are being taken under the said ministry. The UAE declared 2019 as the Year of Tolerance. I was invited as a special guest, on the occasion of the World Tolerance Summit, to represent Pakistan and to express my views on the role of the media for promoting tolerance and endurance in modern society.

The way in which the UAE’s top leadership hosted international delegates during the World Tolerance Summit last year made it clear that the present leadership is very committed to move forward the peace-loving vision of founding father late Sheikh Zayed.

Keeping the national interests on top priority, the government believes that avoiding confrontation and tussle with regional players is in the best interest of the people of the UAE. Recently, the UAE Foreign Minister Anwar Qarqash also made clear that although the UAE does not agree with foreign policies of some Muslim countries still his country does not seek conflict with them.

Constructing an interfaith compound to promote religious harmony among people having different faiths is yet another achievement. Worship places of different religions like mosques, churches and synagogues are being built together. Similarly, in order to acknowledge the services of the Hindu community, a temple was constructed at Abu Dhabi with seven pillars representing the seven states of the UAE.

The UAE is also the first Arab country to send a space mission to Mars. There will be celebrations of the 50th anniversary in February 2021 at the time of landing the Emirati spacecraft at Mars. Similarly, the contributions of the UAE military, along with Nato, in ensuring the peace process in Afghanistan are also remarkable.

In my view, the UAE government’s policies are a role model for all such countries that want to achieve development and prosperity. Being a patriotic citizen, it is also a matter of great concern that the countries that got independence after us are moving forward in the right direction.

The UAE is rapidly transforming itself into a land of opportunities whereas we prefer to indulge ourselves in leg pulling, mudslinging and character assassination of others. It is the need of the time that we must focus on promoting tolerance and endurance in our beloved motherland.

The writer is a member of the National Assembly and patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council.

Twitter: @RVankwani