Interviews with His Highness - 26 September, 2010
Mohammed's interview with Bloomberg Television
Sheikh Mohammed also stressed that his son, Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan, is involved in running the emirate's affairs. Following is the full text of the interview:
Margaret Brennan: We had a very unique opportunity this weekend to sit down with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai and alongside his son Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, where the two competed side by side in the Endurance competition as part of the World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky. We spoke one day before the event, and discussed their leadership on the field of play, and how it carries over into the governing and one year since the debt crisis of Dubai first made news. We asked: what is the health of the Emirate now:
Sheikh Mohammed: Of course, you know this is challenging. We didn't create it (financial crisis), it happened in the world, it happened in America and in Europe, as you know. But we take it as a challenge. Life will be boring if there is no challenge you know, it's a challenge. We are back, of course we are back.
Margaret Brennan: Dubai is back you said?
Sheikh Mohammed: Yes.
Margaret Brennan: Has your vision changed at all for how you want to rule Dubai?
Sheikh Mohammed: Nothing has changed you know, nothing has changed. Meydan, finished in time; Burj Khalifa, finished in time, all the projects that were there, they're going ahead. The ones that are for the future, these might be delayed for 6 months or a year or something like that. But things (are going). Life goes on.
Margaret Brennan: What has it been like for you, Sheikh Hamdan, to watch this? I mean you are getting ready, you're talking about taking a leadership role now with this race, when you look at ruling and watching your father in the past year, what have you learned?
Sheikh Hamdan: I think it's a great opportunity to sit with my father, to see the decisions that he takes in this difficult time it helps me a lot for the future, and I think it's important for me.
Sheikh Mohammed: We work together you know, in these things we work together and he knew what I was going to do and I take his ideas because he is the Crown Prince, he has to be hands on.
Margaret Brennan: So when you rule together and make those decisions, is your vision for Dubai to still be a financial capital of the Middle East, to be a financial transit point between East and West?
Sheikh Mohammed: You talk about Dubai but we talk about the whole UAE. The whole UAE is a country you know, if we think about it, we do things in Abu Dhabi, we do things in Dubai, we do things in Sharjah. We complete each other.
Margaret Brennan: Has it changed for you at all in this past year?
Sheikh Hamdan: Well, no I just keep learning and learning from my father, and this is, as I told you before is a great opportunity to come and live this event together with my father.
Margaret Brennan: So, You started making some choices in terms of selecting economic advisors in the light of last in the past year, that's a big step to start taking?
Sheikh Hamdan: yes we have a lot of changes and good changes also my father always work together with. We know that Dubai is always a leader and I think it will be the leader of the region for the next year.
Margaret Brennan: You have a twitter account and you have a Facebook account; you are very communicative with the public, is that a decision you made or have you hang on watching your father and decided you want to communicate more?
Sheikh Hamdan: I think communication between us and the people is the most important thing. Because there is a big gap these days between people and rulers. My father loves to be in contact with people, and loves to spend every possible time with his people and listens to them. This is really great for me to watch this. It brings hope for me and it shows that our leaders are not far from our people.
Margaret Brennan: During the last year, Dubai has been facing some difficulties, investors were demanding more information and transparency as well as details of what was happening, have you decided to share these details with the investors?
Sheikh Mohammed: I think that some media and newspapers have misunderstood us as we did not say anything; nevertheless, they wrote what they wanted; we have come back and answered them through examples on the ground.
Margaret Brennan: Do you think that the media began to better understand the market today?
Sheikh Mohammed: I think they now understand the situation better; they need information and we provide them with what they want; the situation is good.
Margaret Brennan: what is that you want to communicate right now to the investment community to the public? How do you charactrise Dubai?
Sheikh Mohammed: As Hamdan Said, you should think positive, life is happy. Happiness is within yourself, it is not somewhere else to try to find it. There is no defined way for the happiness, what you are doing is happiness and Dubai and the UAE is happy with our President and with our people and our government. And we love our people and our people love us.
Margaret Brennan: the Ruler of Dubai said the Gulf Emirate has bounced back from its last year's debt crisis. So, I spoke to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in Lixengton Kentucky this week where he was competing at the World Equestrian Games.
Sheikh Mohammed: Of course, you know this is challenging. We didn't create the financial crisis, it happened in the world, it happened in America and in Europe, as you know. But we take it as a challenge, you know. Life will be boring if there is no challenge you know, it's a challenge. We are back, of course we are back.
Margaret Brennan: Dubai's sheikh Mohammed rarely does things on the small scale, the Emirate he rules is a city of superlatives, the tallest tower, the largest man-made island, the largest horse track, and also went with same appetite with hobby, horse racing; I spoke to H.H. Sheikh Mohammed at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky this weekend, which is considered the Olympics of Horse Riding.
Narration: It is in very open that you see heads of states battling for athletic titles. The equestrian sports are a way of life to Dubai's royal family, and Ruler Sheikh Mohammed. He is one of the top ranked equestrians in the world and spent freely to build what is the largest collection of horses in the world. He keeps horse farms in South Carolina, and Kentucky, Princess Haya, Sheikh Mohammed's wife is the elected president of the International Equestrian Federations. The Sheikh's sons including Crown Prince Hamdan, often ride in competition. Their preferred sport is Endurance.
Sheikh Mohammed: This race is different, The owner will be the trainer and the rider.
Margaret Brennan: When I spoke to the sheikh before the race, he said when he is riding the horse is the only thing on his mind. That is no doubt an escape from the pressures of office. But the escape does not take the royal family out of the public eye. "Dubai Sport" broadcasts the royal team progress live from World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, and audience thousands of miles away watch the entire 160 km endurance race without commercial interruption.
Sheikh Hamdan: This is the hardest race I've ever ridden in.
Sheikh Mohammed: When tomorrow (the race) is finished then our mind will be back home.