Sheikh Mohammed's speech at the Arab ICT Summit

The following is a translation of Sheikh Mohammed's keynote speech at the opening of the Arab Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Summit.

In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate, I am very happy to welcome you to your second home, the UAE.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am not going to talk about the precarious turning point that our nation currently faces, since you live here; nor will I list the challenges and changes, because you know them. You know that the Arab world faces a multitude of crises in different areas. If we look at the reports of international organisations, we realise the magnitude of the crises and our responsibility to commence not just planning and analysis, but development and production.

Your participation in these fields is essential, because you are our bridges to a brighter future. Development and stagnation, wealth and poverty, are now defined by new criteria, which depend on the use of modern technology in production and services.

Ladies and gentlemen, your brothers in the UAE have passed an important stage in IT development. Even though the UAE is one of the top twenty countries in the world for the implementation of IT applications, we still believe that we are only at the beginning.

Since we first began our IT projects, other Arab countries have also made advances in this field - there has been a remarkable increase in computer usage, education systems are being computerized and the Internet has been introduced to many sectors. But what we regard as development and progress by our standards does not match international standards. There is still a vast gap between advanced countries and ours in the use of technology.

I ask you to look into ways of bridging this gap. We have seen many examples from around the world that prove this is not an impossible task to achieve. With hard work and dedication we can perform miracles. In places where an individual's income was a hundred dollars, it is now ten thousand dollars - so where are the obstacles? But let's leave these examples.

Since we have no lack of potential, resources, or knowledge of what is going on in this world, do we lack zeal, or national pride in our people and our countries? Do we lack the willpower, the ideas and the ability to work hard? Do we lack clarity and honesty and sincere commitment? Is it too much to ask for Arab countries to launch joint projects and to work hand in hand on a commercial basis? I want you to consider such questions, and try to answer them.

I am depending on you. There is no quicker path to comprehensive development than cooperation in the fields of IT and communication. Each of our countries has its own distinguished features, yet we have lost thousands of Arab intellectuals and scientists who have migrated to the West.

Providing an environment in which creativity can flourish, and creating opportunities for these minds to return, is an incentive for us to cooperate and attempt to implement arrangements that will guarantee the return of these qualified people to plant in their homelands and to have their share of the harvest.

I ask you, as ICT officials and decision makers, to increase cooperation between Arab countries. We have announced many times that our facilities are available to all our brothers. Some have benefited from our experience, but we want you all to benefit. We want others to begin where we stop, and to develop still further as their success is ours, and any success we achieve is theirs as well.

We must strive to make IT and communication developments part of our life and economy. This requires greater effort from everyone, whether in the public or private sector, but it is governments who must take the lead in their country's development, because it is a comprehensive process requiring the restructuring of educational and training programs, the development of infrastructure and the use of all available resources.

I am happy to invite all Arab governments to gather here and discuss a framework in which to develop our skills in IT and communication. I also announce that we are willing to house the preliminary stage of such a project and offer all necessary support to ensure its success.

I trust in God, and I trust our Arab youth. I am certain that our nation will prosper; it has a great heritage, full of civilized achievements and a brilliant history of overcoming difficulties. Our nation will take her place amongst the most advanced nations thanks to the efforts of her sons.

Welcome once again to your country, the UAE. I ask God to grant us success and to let us achieve only the best for our nation and our countries.

Peace be upon you.