Ambassador's Message
It was with great pleasure my family and I arrived in Abu Dhabi
to take up the appointment of Ambassador to the UAE. During our few
months we have been here we have enjoyed the warm reception of many
South Africans as well as the Emiratis.
The UAE is a very important partner and friend of South Africa.
Diplomatic relations were established almost immediately after our
first democratic elections in 1994. President Mandela's first
representative, Ambassador Yusuf Saloojee, arrived in 1995 and was
succeeded by HE Digkang Moopeloa, who departed in December 2006. My
predecessors have been great trail blazers and I hope to continue
in their fine tradition. I am glad to say that I have great support
from my teams in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in this endeavour.
As a sign
of our strengthening relations the Dubai Consulate was opened and a
Consulate General appointed in 2005. As the CG indicates in her
message, South Africa has benefited hugely from the effort put in
by various parties, especially the South African business community
and SABCO.
Looking forward to 2009, we will not be exaggerating in saying
that humanity and the planet face serious challenges. Given South
Africa's commitment to a 'better South Africa, in a better Africa,
in a better world', our country and government will have to play a
key role in finding solutions to these challenges. Our government
will work with the South African people and the international
community in pursuing policies which are to the benefit of all
people, especially the most impoverished and destitute.
To cite some key challenges we need to be focussed on globally,
in Africa and in South Africa:
- Addressing the current economic crisis. South Africa, as a
voice of the developing world, and the UAE, as a very important
global economic player, will have to work closely in making useful
contributions.
- Addressing the severe impact of climate change. The fact that
South Africa hosted the Earth Summit in Joburg in 2002, and given
the UAE's commitment to better environmental policies and
alternative energy sources, make us natural partners.
- Ensuring that the number of conflicts around the world is
reduced through durable peaceful solutions. Again the UAE and South
Africa are playing leading roles in our respective regions and have
much common ground for cooperation.
- Contributing to the upliftment of Africa especially through the
New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad).
- Ensuring that the South African economy is able to go back to
the 6% GDP growth path we were on from 2005 to 2007.
The last is a challenge all South Africans can contribute to. We
need to continue promoting our country as a great source of top
quality goods, as a wonderful destination for vacations and hosting
of conferences and the ideal place to be investing. A number of
wonderful investment opportunities are opening - especially in the
real estate, energy and infrastructure sectors. Notwithstanding the
downturn, we find that our host country is still looking globally
for investment opportunities. This is one of the reasons why our
DTI rep is going to be located in Abu Dhabi to cover the entire
Emirates better.
From my side I can only promise to ensure that service levels to
South Africans and all other clients continue improving through our
two missions. In that regard I appreciate the feedback I have
received from many of you and will continue welcoming that.
I trust that during these difficult times we will all take on
2009 with hope and optimism.
H E Yacoob Abba Omar
The Ambassador