Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the deputy ruler of Dubai and the minister of finance and industry of the UAE, died of illness on March 24. Consul General Li Xuhang published a special article "Farewell to Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, a Good Friend of the Chinese People" in Al Bayan, a mainstream Arabic newspaper in the UAE on March 26. The English translation of the full text of the article is as follows:
I was shocked to hear that His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the deputy ruler of Dubai and the minister of finance and industry of the UAE, passed away. This news saddened me deeply. I would like to express my sincere condolences to the family of His Highness and the people of the UAE. When I visited His Highness in October 2109, I showed him the images in the collection of "Beautiful China” and invited him to visit China again at his convenience. At that time, I also presented him with the book "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China", and he gave me the book "My Story" by His Highness Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, which I keep on my desk and read it frequently.
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum is a witness to the history of the modern UAE. He has contributed to the rapid economic development of the UAE since its founding and is also the pride of the UAE people. In his decades of professional career, he has dedicated himself to the development and progress of the UAE, made a historic contribution to the creation of the Dubai miracles, and laid a solid foundation for the country's long-term development.
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum is also a good friend of the Chinese people. He attached great importance to the development of China-UAE relations, regarded China as an important partner, and actively promoted China-UAE cooperation in economic and trade, tourism, culture, and other fields to achieve fruitful results. As the first deputy prime minister of the UAE government, he witnessed the glorious development of China-UAE relations. On behalf of the UAE government, he received many high-level Chinese delegations. He also maintained close and good relations with the previous Chinese consul generals in Dubai, exchanging gifts and greetings on festivals. We will never forget his unremitting efforts and important contributions to China-UAE friendly relations.
We are deeply saddened by the loss of such a long-time good friend. However, at the same time, we are also pleased to see that there are successors taking his causes and his spirit. Over the past 50 years since the founding of the country, the people of the UAE have continuously made great achievements in development and construction of the country and have played an increasingly important and constructive role on the international stage. The China-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership has developed steadily, and the UAE has become the Middle Eastern country whose cooperation with China is the deepest in degree, widest in scope and most fruitful in achievements. We are willing to work with the UAE along the path of the China-UAE friendship that His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum has dedicated his life to. Moreover, we will continue to write a new chapter in the China-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership and make new historical contributions to the long-term plan of China-UAE relations.