All big projects have what is known as “outtakes”, elements that for various reasons find themselves left out of the final product.
So it is with The National’s “History Project”, the annual magazine for National Day that this year looks at the country’s emergence in the world of international affairs.
The magazine was published free with the paper last week and can be found online at www.thenational.ae/uae/history-project.
This photograph is an out-take from this year and comes from the archives of The National’s Arabic sister newspaper, Al Ittihad.
It was taken during the visit of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat in July 1976, and records his arrival at Abu Dhabi International Airport.
Among those waving in greeting is Sheikh Zayed, Founding Father and first President of the UAE, side by side with Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed, Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi who is now President of the UAE. Among the others is Ahmed Al Suwaidi, Foreign Minister, amid a splendid display of 1970s suits.
* James Langton
