Emiratis have a duty to the future

Military service should just be the start of young Emiratis repaying their head start

Dr Anwar Gargash has urged young Emiratis to fulfill their duty to participate in the political process. Delores Johnson / The National

Dr Anwar Gargash is entirely correct to say that young Emiratis have a duty to repay the enormous advantages our country has bestowed upon them. The remarks by the Minister of State for FNC Affairs and Chairman of the National Election Commission were in the context of urging national service recruits to also take part in the political process so their voices and viewpoints are heard at the highest levels of government, but his point remains valid well beyond that.

The recruits are already giving their time to serve our country, and the potential cost of military service was brought home by the deaths this week of three Emirati servicemen who were part of Operation Restoring Hope in Yemen. While Dr Gargash added to the condolences offered to the fallen, he told the recruits their duty extended beyond just their military service because young men and women of this country are the "main pillar for social and political prosperity".

We contend that the duty extends even beyond that. It is already well established that the UAE is a beacon in the Arab world, with the Arab Youth Survey consistently rating this country as the best place to live and the one that the other 15 Arab countries ought to emulate. Young Emiratis have, of course, substantial advantages not available to the other Arabs living here, with generous support for education and the security that ought to allow entrepreneurship to blossom.

The best way to repay this is to take full advantage by achieving academically and then using their skills and sense of innovation to propel this country to new heights. This applies as much to the private sector, where they can help create a more broadly based economy diversified from extractive industries, as to the public sector, where they can help bring excellent governance. Young Emiratis now will have fulfilled that duty if the generation following them is able to have a similar head start.