Interviews with His Highness - 01 April, 2008

Question and answer session at Tsinghua University

Sheikh Mohammed: Well, I am really proud and honoured to come to this university... the very good university who teach the young leadership... because this is what I do there. We teach young leadership - we invest in people to really teach them to become a leader. So it is a great pleasure to come and see you here and talk to you. If you want to ask me any questions and if you want me to talk, I am ready.

Sheikh Mohammed is introduced.

Q: I think as Vice President and Prime Minister, you must be very, very busy. I must ask, how do you balance your time between the whole nation and your own family?

Sheikh Mohammed: We the Arab are always good family ... they stay together. If you organise yourself, you can have time for many things...

Yes I was the Ruler of Dubai and then I became the Prime Minister... I built Dubai before but to come as a Prime Minister...  it's more work... We have a space between Dubai and Abu Dhabi and the rest of the Emirates so my ... aim and vision to bring those emirates together and we are concentrating on education, health and housing very much.

...To me, this is challenge and I like the challenge... What you're doing - you are studying - you have a challenge in front of you. You have to be a leader. When you grow up, you want to be the best so that is your challenge in life. I have every day challenge but nothing is impossible... in my dictionary.

Q: Good afternoon, Mr. Vice President... There are so many young people in important positions in UAE, so my question is why do you choose so many young people to take so much responsibility?

Sheikh Mohammed: Yes, it is a good question, but you see, we don't have to wait... we teach them. I mean, all these people you see here came through my office. I teach them. By showing them, by talking to them, they cannot understand... you have to show them an example. When you are succeeding in that example, then they follow you. For example, we were trading with your country since ages... thousands of years... and now we're coming back...

I'll tell you a story. There is an example in Europe... a lion better lead the sheep than the sheep leading the lions. And I was giving a lecture one day and I thought to say it... but I said, whoever said it, it's a very bad example. I think the leader should teach his follower to be a lion like him... and then the lion will lead lions...

We went to the best universities, our sons went to the best universities and we have the experience of leading the country... By gaining the experience they become young, but leader. That's for your question.

Q: So, Your Highness, we know you have become a very important leader when you are very young, so what was life like at that time?

Sheikh Mohammed: Very good. Well... I'm writing a book now called 'My Childhood' and I'll send you one...

But really... my father, my grandfather, they taught me like I'm teaching my sons and daughters now. By the way, one of my daughters is coming for the Olympics here - playing Karate - she's a gold medallist.

So, what my father taught me: I wanted to know about horses and he said to me, "No, you go and learn about the bird, the falcon, the gazelle, why one is faster than the other," and then he gave me the horse. So all my life is learning from my father... for example, we will sit ... with wise people. And then one man will bring a story - that story not between them - they want to teach me something. And then after one week, somebody else will bring the same story. They just want me to learn...

And really, what we learn in school and university, it is only 10% from what I learned from the Majlis and my father and my grandfather - how to be leader - how to understand the people, how to tell if somebody lying to you or not and how to judge people... My life wasn't easy, it was hard, but they have to build you that way, they have to give you a hard life to become a leader.

Q: So you enjoyed it very much?

Sheikh Mohammed: (Laughing) Not always, you have to have the pain... If you sit on a chair always you will be fed up - you have to walk - and that's why, when I look back, yes, I enjoyed it, but it was hard work. Sometimes I'd say, "Why's my father doing this to me?" But it is hard, yes.

Q: What did the Government do to encourage entrepreneurship?

Sheikh Mohammed: This is a very good question and that's why I am here... As I said before, we invest in our people... they to us is everything, not project... First we invest in the human, in the young people...

We are not only doing it in the United Arab Emirates. I am happy to tell you that last year, we put $10 billion to teach students in the poor country... and we're not helping only Arab or Muslim, no religion, nothing, anybody poor. Because - if the poor - you feed them, they will get hungry again. If you teach them then they carry themselves... When we get things, we like to share with others.

More than half of our population is under 25 years old...

Q: We know every year, UAE sends a lot of students for further study, so we do recommend them to go to Tsinghua for example.

Sheikh Mohammed: ...We had a trade with you before. Then we looked at the West, now we're coming back to you... We would love to send some of our students to come and learn here and we'd like to have some of your students to come there. We did this with the Americans, now a lot of Americans are coming and we have the same. So we would like not only to come here but I'd love to have some of you to come there and to study and we'll teach them how to be a leader...

Q: What is UAE doing in humanitarian efforts to help other countries?

Sheikh Mohammed: ...We are helping a lot of poor people... I think UAE is the best country in the Middle East of helping people in the world. We are sending aids for many things and when crises happen you will see UAE... Red Cross or something before anybody there - we love to help the people - this is our nature - we go to Africa...

Q: Will you be here when the Olympic Games was held in Beijing?

Sheikh Mohammed: I wish you all the luck. I think Beijing is the city that can do that... and I'll be here because my daughter's coming and she might bring me with her also.

Thank you. And I mean it when I say I'd love some student to come there and to study in my country. Thank you very much.