UAE Has Managed To Transform Itself Into Global Platform For Innovation: Zaki Nusseibeh

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 16th Sep, 2020) Zaki Nusseibeh, Minister of State, has said that in the past few years the UAE has transformed itself into a global platform for innovation which embraces talent, and inspires its own as well as Arab youth to harness modern science and technology for the good of humanity.

He urged the youth to learn how to employ science, innovation, and creativity in the service of their communities.

He confirmed that the story of UAE’s success over the last 50 years is a testimony of its determination, as it celebrates sending the first Arab probe to Mars and enjoy the benefits of renewable and nuclear energy, to prepare for the next 50 years with equal ambitions and resolve.

His speech came in the first session of the webinar series titled, "Dialogues on Innovation. The Pandemic, Human Civilisation and the Frontiers of Technology" organised by the Italian Cultural Institute Abu Dhabi, attended by Nicola Lener, Ambassador of the Italian Republic to the UAE, and directed by Professor Ida Zilio-Grandi, the institute’s Managing Director.

"We, in the UAE are proud that our collective response to the COVID-19 crisis, a vicious pandemic that has decimated the global economy, causing great suffering and loss across large sections of the world population, was both determined and successful. Our government was able to fully mitigate the outbreak of this contagious disease within our borders while extending a hand of assistance and help to other nations.

This is because we believe that overcoming such a global calamity requires true collaboration across nations and that we are as strong as our weakest member," he stated.

He added, "As of end-August, the UAE had provided more than 1,328 tonnes of food and medical aid to more than 111 countries, with over 1.3 million medical professionals assisted across the globe. This speaks to the country’s unwavering support to cross-border collaboration and multilateral action, especially in times of crises."

"As the world learns to cope with this new pandemic, we, in the UAE, move forward in our planning to work with other nations in testing an innovative vaccine that could mitigate its terrible legacy," he said while concluding speech.

Nicola Lener underlined the invaluable role of the technology in helping us stay connected during the lockdown months after the pandemic outbreak, stressing, "Technology can hardly replace, in the long run, the physical interaction between people, the physical sharing of spaces, activities, and experiences."

Closing his intervention, Lener mentioned that the "Dialogues" is the first initiative organised by the brand new Italian Cultural Institute in Abu Dhabi that the Italian Government recently established to strengthen the institutional and people-to-people relations between Italy and the UAE, as well as to support UAE’s role as a global connecting hub between civilisations and cultures, also because of EXPO 2020.