Arab world has lost a top leader: UAE
abu dhabi — The UAE Ministry of Presidential Affairs has mourned the death of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, who died on Monday in Cairo. He was 91.
“Today, the Arab world has lost a prominent leader who devoted his life to the service of his country and the Arab world. Hosni Mubarak had a special relationship with the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and a strong bond with the President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who together helped bolster ties between the two countries further,” the ministry said in a statement.
According to the statement, Sheikh Khalifa ordered for the UAE flag to be flown at half-mast across the country’s government bodies and diplomatic missions abroad for a one-day period.
Mubarak died in intensive care a few weeks after undergoing surgery. Egypt’s presidency and armed forces mourned him as a hero for his role in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war and the former air force officer will be given a military funeral. —
The Arab world has lost a statesman who took significant national and historic positions
Dr Anwar gargash @Anwargargash
Egypt’s former president Hosni Mubarak, who ruled for three decades before he was ousted amid the Arab Spring protests in 2011, died on Tuesday at age 91. The once burly autocrat with the trademark sunglasses, who became witheringly frail after multiple surgeries towards the end of his life, spent years behind bars for his role in the deaths of protesters but was freed in 2017 after the convictions were overturned.
His son Alaa Mubarak wrote on Twitter: “This morning my father, president Mubarak, passed away”.
His death was confirmed by the presidency and on state television.
Mubarak’s brother-in-law, General Mounir Thabet, said that the family was by Mubarak’s side at the hospital.
A military funeral was planned for Wednesday, to be followed by three days of mourning, said the office of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.
Mubarak had long battled illness and was recently admitted to a Cairo military hospital’s intensive care unit, as media speculated on whether he suffered cancer, heart troubles or respiratory ailments.
Tributes poured in from leaders in the Middle East, where Mubarak’s Egypt, a key ally of the United States, had at times served as a mediator, especially in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Dr Anwar Gargash, UAE’s minister of state for foreign affairs, hailed Mubarak as “a statesman ... who espoused nationalistic and historical positions”.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Mubarak’s commitment to “peace and security” when he ruled Egypt, the first Arab state to make peace with Israel and establish full diplomatic relations.
And Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said he mourned the death “with great sorrow” and hailed Mubarak’s support of the Palestinian cause.
President Sisi’s office offered condolences and hailed Mubarak as one of the “heroes of the October 1973 war against Israel”.
Internationally, Mubarak garnered respect as a regional power broker, including in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed El-Baradei, who was a key opposition figure in the waning years of Mubarak, paid his respects.
“May God have mercy on the former president ... and grant his family patience and comfort,” he said on Twitter. —
Mubarak spent his life serving his homeland and the issues of righteousness and justice in the world, with the issue of our Palestinian people at the top of them.”
Mahmoud Abbas,
Palestinian President