May 2017 prove to be better for all in the UAE

On behalf of the Pakistani community in the UAE and on my personal behalf, I wish to extend warm felicitations and season’s greetings to the leadership and people of the UAE on the new year.

The year 2016 marked another year of solid development in this country in various fields and endeavours to consolidate the UAE’s position as a global hub for culture and knowledge. It is our earnest desire to see this country continue to cross milestones and score successes, and achieve greater prosperity and stability.

President Sheikh Khalifa has declared 2017 as the Year of Giving. I feel it is an apt designation given the UAE’s well-deserved reputation as a leading donor of international aid and humanitarian assistance.

I am also confident that the new year will witness a further deepening of relations between the UAE and Pakistan, to the mutual benefit of our two peoples. Moazzam A Khan, Ambassador of Pakistan to the UAE

The year comes to an end, which reminds us that the only constant thing in life is change. Change means that new things start and other things come to an end. It is also time to reflect on what happened in the year and whether the world is a better and safer place than it was a year ago. This is hard to tell.

On the one hand, there is no end in sight to wars and conflicts.

Terrorism continues to haunt people all over the world while there is little to cheer about the majority of the global political and economic developments.

However, there have been many positive developments too, which have sometimes been eclipsed by the negative events.

I hope the new year brings peace to the world. I wish your readers a happy and prosperous new year. Jamshed Masood, Dubai

I have been an avid reader of your newspaper since its inception.

I would like to congratulate you for maintaining the quality of news and views though the years. I am sure it will continue to be like this. I wish you all the best for the new year. Anima Varghese, Abu Dhabi