H.E. Dr. Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water, recently welcomed a delegation from the UAE National Archives Department at the Ministry’s headquarters in Dubai to commend and support the National Archive Campaign which currently is documenting and collating the region’s historical records and official documents under the theme ‘Watheq’.

‘Watheq’ was launched by the National Archive Department upon the request of H.E. Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of the National Archive Department. Minister Bin Fahad asserted the importance of preserving the UAE’s national heritage as represented in official historical documents bearing the state’s historical milestones and reflecting the region’s culture and identity.  He also emphasized the importance of honoring the wisdom of the country’s forefathers for having preserved these documents in acknowledgment of their importance for current and future generations. 

 Bin Fahad said “Our founding father Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, God rest his soul, believed in the importance of preserving our past as a reflection of our state identity. We felt his passion in his directive to build the National Archive department in 1968, and his firm belief that ‘those with no past, have no present.’

 The delegation explained that the aim of the Watheq campaign is to educate Emirati families, public figures and academic institutions on the importance of archiving by showing them the collection of historical UAE records, including handwritten documents and pictures, all of which have been preserved following the highest international standards.

 Also in attendance were H.E. Dr. Abdullah Al Rayes, Director General of the National Archive Department; Majid Al-Mehairi, Executive Director at National Archive;  Mr. Farhan Hasan Ali Hasan Al Marzouqi, Head of Marketing and Media;  Mrs. Mariam Al Arabi, Head of the Watheq Campaign; H.E. Abdul Raheem Al-Hammadi, Assistant Undersecretary for Support Services, H.E. Engineer Saif Mohammed Al-Shara', Assuistant Undersecretary for Agricultural and Livestock Affairs, Ghanim Al Shamsi, Acting Assistant Undersecretary of External Audit, Mr. Shubbar Sharaf, Head of Administrative Services; and Engineer Yousef Al-Ahmad Al Rayssi, Acting Director for the Government Communication Department