Following the passing of UAE President Sheikh Khalifa, leaders from the region and throughout the world have expressed their condolences. Sheikh Khalifa died on Friday, according to the Ministry of Presidential Affairs. He was 73. The government has established a 40-day period of mourning for the President, who has governed the UAE since the death of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the country’s founding father, in 2004.
In a statement to the UAE’s leaders and people, GCC Secretary General Nayef Al Hajraf stated Sheikh Khalifa died after “a life full of giving, and giving in the service of his people, his homeland, and the Arab and Islamic nation.” The royal palace claimed that Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman conveyed their condolences to the “government of the UAE, the Al Nahyan family, the Emirati people, and the Arab and Islamic nations over the loss of Sheikh Khalifa.” During the Iraqi occupation, he recalled Sheikh Khalifa’s “just and righteous approach” toward the country. Sheikh Khalifa led the UAE “during a period of comprehensive revival that elevated it to the ranks of developed countries,” according to him.