President Ali extends condolence on death of UAE’s President

Following the news of the passing of the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Friday, President Dr Irfaan Ali wrote the Royal Family in Abu Dhabi to extend his condolences.

In the letter seen by the Guyana Times, the Guyanese Leader said he was disturbed by the distressing news of the death of the UAE President, who had been ill after suffering a stroke in 2014.
“While I was aware that His Highness was not in the best of health, his sudden passing came a as a sad surprise. That he died on the blessed day of Jumu’ah is testimony to the blessed life he lived,” President Ali said.
The Guyanese Head of State described the Middle East Leader as a “humble and generous man” who sought the unity of the Muslim world and worked tirelessly to fulfill the aspirations of the Emirati people. According to Ali, President Sheikh Khalifa’s death has wrested an illustrious and an iconic figure from the world.

“On my own behalf that that of my Government and the people of Guyana, I express my deepest condolences to the grieving Government and people of the United Arab Emirates,” the letter dated 13th May, 2022 detailed.
Of recent, Guyana has been further strengthening bilateral ties with the UAE with reciprocal visits by state officials in both countries.
Only in March of this year, President Ali met with UAE’s Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum during which the two leaders discussed a number of areas of cooperation.
The Guyanese President was at the time attending the Caribbean Investment Forum (CIF2022) in Dubai, where delivered the keynote address at the opening, and also participated in the Global Business Forum-LATAM.
This followed his first visit to the Middle East nation in October 2021.
Emirati state news agency, WAM, reported on Friday that President Sheikh Khalifa died at the age of 73. He took office as the second President of the UAE in November 2004 but had hardly been seen publicly since his stroke in 2014.
According to the BBC, Sheikh Khalifa’s half-brother, Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, is now in charge of state affairs.
The international news agency said that in addition to being president of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa, who they described as “one of the richest monarchs in the world” was also the ruler of Abu Dhabi, the oil-rich capital of the seven emirates which comprise the UAE.
The country’s ministry of presidential affairs declared 40 days of mourning with flags at half-mast from Friday, and work suspended in the public and private sector for the first three days.
Following the announcement of his death, tributes from leaders around the world poured in on Friday. (G8)