Mohammed addresses Young Arab Leaders Forum

The following is a translation of Sheikh Mohammed's speech at the Young Arab Leaders Forum.

Without leaders who have leadership qualities, reforms in the Arab world will fall short of expectations, resulting in repeated failures and failure in all sectors.

Hence the emphasis that we in the UAE have placed - since the very beginning - on preparing leaders and giving them positions of responsibility. Today, these leaders help to manage development and to prepare new leaders.

And hence also our interest in the Young Arab Leaders organisation and our emphasis on giving it the support necessary to achieve its aims. Ultimately, the role of the leaders decides the possibility of success or failure in politics or economics, in education or sports, in good times or hard times, in war or peace.

While leaders enjoy the privilege of their positions, achievements, successes and victories, they also bear the responsibility for failure and defeat.

For us in the Arab world, in an objective evaluation of recent years and decades, one must hold the leaders responsible for any failures or mediocrity.

We do not want this failure to be repeated; it must not be allowed to happen again. Lack of means or foreign intervention is an unacceptable excuse for this failure. Such excuses are a recipe for inactivity, laziness and underperforming. The leadership's competence is tested in hard times, especially since people in the Arab world have never failed to extend their help, perform their duties, answer a call to action or bear the consequences of mistakes their leaders have made as a result of weakness, nepotism and corruption. People cannot take it any more or wait any longer. This explains the anxiety and stress in some Arab communities.

Brothers and sisters, despite the bitter harvest of the last era, signs of change and reform are beginning to appear in many Arab countries, which gives you and the younger Arab generation an opportunity to break free of disappointment, frustration and despair. You have to build on these signs, because if you are to work for the future you must have a healthy outlook and be optimistic, self-confident and hopeful that you can improve situations, and you must be able to achieve objectives based on reality and not based on outdated theories or vague slogans that exist in the fanciful world of daydreams.

There is no alternative to having a realistic understanding of the world, monitoring developments and keeping pace with its rapid shift towards the globalisation of economies and markets and all the accompanying political, social and cultural consequences. You have to realise that the economically strong are politically strong and the economically weak are marginalised in terms of politics, culture and civilisation.

Brothers and sisters, through you, we look forward to excellent leadership committed to better working methods and equipped with extraordinary courage, transparency that tackles corruption and a strong belief that the future lies in change and reform.

You have to reach farther than normal and not let any failure stop you from trying again. You have to take the initiative, because anyone who waits for a situation to improve will never get started.

To be in such a position, there is no substitute for a strong working team. Do not be afraid of the strong; be afraid of those who are weak and hesitant.

I am reminded of a foreign saying: It is better to have a lion leading a herd of sheep than a sheep leading a herd of lions. But I say it is better to have a lion leading a herd of lions; sheep are easy to lead.

I want you at the Young Arab Leaders Forum to be lions, and to work towards becoming leaders of lions. A successful leader takes care of his helpers and followers, teaching them boldness and wisdom and inspiring them with daring and courage.

In the long run, there is a limit to the abilities of even a successful leader. No-one in this world can control everything, so one needs a team to help realise one's vision. Would a leader select his team members from among those who tremble and agree with everything or the hypocrites, or would he choose lions that will lend him their strength and that will face difficulty and outperform the impossible?

My advice to you, brothers, is to be lions, to be sure to lead lions that take the initiative, make suggestions, discuss issues and achieve.

Brothers and sisters, the price of leadership is responsibility. Your responsibility extends beyond yourselves, your establishments and your companies to include your communities and your nation. Ultimately, the one true measure of success is whether people's lives have improved and their emotional and material needs are being met. Matters of public interest should be as important to you as your personal affairs.

You have a role to play in the internal reform of your countries. You are the pioneers and leaders of reform. You have a role to play in intellectual reform, the improvement of education and the role of women in society, in confronting abnormal phenomena such as violence, extremism, accusing people of religious infidelity and intolerance.

You have a role in promoting cooperation among Arab countries. If the global marketplace is a reality, then it is necessary to remove barriers among the Arab markets in order to increase trade and make use of economies of scale as they do in many countries from East Asia to Latin America.

Brothers and sisters, the potential exists, as do the opportunities. The starting point is the present, the target is the future

We have to decide how to shape the future, how to pursue development.

It is our responsibility to shape our future, and we are capable of doing so. But anyone who cannot help to shape the future must relinquish his position to those who can. We have to make plans and work hard in order to achieve our objectives.

Allah Almighty does not let the efforts of hard workers go to waste.

I wish you all prosperity and success.

Thank you.