“The 2nd of December 1971, has always been a happy day in the history of our nation” this is how His Excellency Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh, Minister of State, started his conversation with Dubai Post.

He added: “This day was special because it culminated the efforts of the founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may his soul rest in peace, as he believed in the success of the union despite the skeptics.”

HE Zaki Nusseibeh added that everybody was overwhelmingly happy after the declaration of the union because the people wanted to unite. "The people of the emirates have many things in common. They share the same customs and traditions and are also considered from the same families.”

He explained that the late Sheikh Zayed, may his soul rest in peace was a great personality and had a great status between people and the world.

“People were awestruck by his presence when entering his “majlis”. During the time when I worked as his translator, many diplomats were almost trembling when meeting him. But when Sheikh Zayed receives them and smiles and then make them sit on his right, these feelings soon vanished. His memories are engraved in us, he is absent, but still live and exists among us, and he is in the care of Allah the Almighty. May his soul rest in peace.”