The Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Dr. Abdullatif Bin Rashid Al Zayani, visited Zayed University Dubai Campus, where he was received by HE Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, UAE Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, HE Dr. Bahgat Al Youssef, Acting Director of Zayed University and a number of members of the administrative and teaching bodies of the university.

The Secretary-General delivered a lecture to university students, entitled "The Gulf Cooperation Council - Ambitions and Achievements", during which he expressed his happiness to visit this distinguished scientific edifice that is one of the evidence of the achievements of the sustainable development journey in the United Arab Emirates. He praised the support received by Zayed University from the UAE wise leadership.

Dr. Abdullatif Bin Rashid Al Zayani praised Zayed University for playing effective roles in serving development issues as a beacon of educational excellence in the region, as well as implementing good leadership directives, coordination and active cooperation in various fields. He commended the university for its role in promoting development efforts through its training and educational programs, to build individual and institutional capabilities, in order to achieve the noble goals and principles of the United Arab Emirates.

This comes in the context of the sub-specialization program in GCC and Middle Eastern Studies, which was created by Zayed University for its students in various colleges, where they get acquainted with the historical, political, economic and cultural aspects of the Middle East region in general and the Arabian Gulf in particular, as they study the development of the region and its diversity, in addition to exploring its future prospects.

This program builds on solid foundations of the humanities and social sciences, helping students make informed opinions, explain social and political issues in the region, and gain a better understanding of how to deal with their complex social and institutional reality that affects their daily lives.

In his lecture, the Secretary-General talked about the journey of the GCC joint cooperation, stressing that the Gulf Cooperation Council was established as result of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan - may God rest his soul, and his brothers the leaders of the GCC states insight.

He pointed out that there are five strategic goals that we commit to in the Gulf Cooperation Council, the first of which is ensuring safety and security in all aspects, whether against external threats or fighting crime. The second is to maintain economic growth and work to diversify sources of income. Third, and most importantly, human development, as citizens of the GCC States are the primary value of our economic growth, and they are a way to ensure a sustainable mechanism for achieving all goals set. Therefore, we must invest in educating future generations and creating innovative environments, all to ensure that our citizens create new opportunities, to become entrepreneurs, not job seekers. As for the fourth goal, it is related to strengthening the international standing of the GCC States between regional and international organizations, so that they have a role and help in achieving stability in the region. Last but not least, achieving regional flexibility to ensure that crises and disasters are dealt with and recovering as quickly as possible, and reshape a stable, healthy life after the crisis for our citizens.

The Secretary-General said: Economically, currently, under the guidance of their Majesties and Highnesses, our leaders, we are working to achieve economic unity among member states by 2025, and there are many examples of our success in the economic field. The most prominent of them is the volume of trade exchange between member states, which in 2003 was about 6 billion $, while last year it reached more than 147 billion $, and this indicates the importance of the Gulf common market.

As for mobility, especially regarding the people freedom of movement, it was recorded in 2018 about 127 million people, and real estate ownership also increased from 1,000 citizens who owned real estate in the GCC States in 2003, reached more than 250,000 citizens in 2018.

In economic and commercial activities, we recorded 3000 commercial activities in 2003, and today the number has jumped to more than 115,000 companies owned by citizens of the GCC States.

Dr. Abdullatif Al-Zayani touched on the importance of the electrical interconnection project between the GCC states and the GCC railway project as strategic development projects.

In response to a question by a university student about the key to success, His Excellency the Secretary-General said that the secret of success that he drew from his entire professional and life experience is training, training and training. The first training is joining the training courses, the second training is the training of the trainer, and the third training is the self-training that is achieved through setting one's challenges, projects and future visions that draws from his experiences and develops new patterns and methods to deal with them.

Dr. Al-Zayani appreciated the pioneering progress achieved internationally in the United Arab Emirates in all fields, especially in the field of education and social work. He praised HE Noura Al Kaabi, who he said is not only the Emirati woman’s ambassador in the world, but also the Gulf woman’s ambassador, praising in the same context the educational renaissance that gave birth to Mariam Al Mansoori, the first Emirati female pilot, and to the mother who gave birth to, raised and taught Hazza Al Mansoori, the first Emirati astronaut.

The lecture was attended by faculty deans, a number of members of the administrative and teaching staff, and a group of students.