Centennial Plan shows UAE’s commitment to future

The outlay gives all parts of government and society clear targets so that they can coordinate their efforts

It is very unusual for any country to have the courage to lay down a plan for national development that will run more than 50 years into the future. The UAE’s Centennial Plan to mark its first hundred years in 2071 is a confident statement of the nation’s determination to prioritise what is required in ensuring its development. This is important as the ongoing plans may be well-coordinated, but they also need to resonate with the long-term aims of where the leadership and people want their society to be.

In terms of government and society, the Centennial Plan outlines an exciting vision of both working together to build a nation that will think for itself, act with confidence, and behave in a manner based on sound values.

Two more vital sections of the plan cover the future generation and education, where the UAE faces a major challenge in getting curriculums and life-long learning that will produce the best students in the world, living with positivity and optimism, with open minds and informed knowledge who can contribute to their nation and the human race at large.

The fifth part of the plan relates to the economy that should be open to global competition and be able to compete with the world’s best in terms of quality as it moves to become fully diversified from its current reliance on oil.

This remarkable blueprint for long-term social development means that government planners in all ministries and semi-government organisations, and in the various emirates, can match their thinking so that the many initiatives complement each other and the total outcome of their work is much enhanced.