Shaikh Mohammed gifts his book to Kerala Chief Minister

Trivandrum, Jan 3: Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had a pleasant surprise on Thursday when he received from His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, a personal copy of his best-selling book My Vision: Challenges in the Race for Excellence.

UAE-based Non-Resident Indian (NRI) businessman M.A Yusuffali handed over the Malayalam translation of the book along with a personal message from Shaikh Mohammed, whom the Chief Minister had met in Dubai in April last year.

Finance Minister K.M. Mani, Excise Minister K. Babu and Aviation Principal Secretary V.J. Kurien were present on the occasion. The book, in which the author examines various aspects of the UAE’s unique development experience, is considered a befitting gift to Chandy since he is trying to change the course of the state’s development by formulating a new vision.

Curiously, majority of those who have responded to his call for suggestions for inclusion in the Vision 2025 document being brought by his government are NRIs, who forms nearly 50 per cent of the Indian expatriate population in the UAE.

Shaikh Mohammed had praised Chandy for his hard work and his close contacts with the masses. He also commented on the role being played by Keralites in the development of Dubai. He termed Keralites as a “hardworking, enterprising and trustworthy” community.

The Malayalam translation of the book was brought out by KC Saleem, editor of Interactive, an online portal, for the benefit of over half a million Malayalees, who live and work in the UAE. The Malayalam language version follows the successful launch of the book in Arabic, English and Mandarin earlier.