December 5, 2024 • 23 mins
Abu Dhabi has been on a $10 billion drive to draw expats to live in the city and boost tourism. It already has a Louvre and is building a Guggenheim museum. The capital of the United Arab Emirates has poured billions into theme parks, five-star hotels, luxury homes and sports complexes. Mohamed Al Mubarak, Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism Chairman is spearheading all this and sits down with David Rubenstein for an episode of "The David Rubenstein Show: Peer to Peer Conversations." He is also the chairman of Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi's largest property developer. Al Mubarak said he's seeing a surge in demand for homes that's being driven in large part by foreign buyers. This interview was recorded on October 31 in Abu Dhabi.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
People who want to see great art often go to
the Louver in Paris, but now there's another Louver. It's
an Abu Dhabi and it's about to be a Guggenheim
in Abu Dhabi as well. Who's behind building these museums
and other cultural attractions in Abu Dhabi. It's Mohammed al Mubark.
He's the chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism
in Abu Dhabi, and I sat down with him recently
in his office to talk about why Abu Dhabi wants
(00:24):
to be a major cultural center and tourist attraction For
those people who aren't familiar with Abu Dhabi. Where is
Abu Dhabi.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
So, Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Emirates.
It sits in the Arabian Peninsula. We are a connecting
point between east and West from present day and throughout
our history.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
The other major city that people know in UAE is Dubai, Yes, sir,
and so Dubai and Abu Dhabi have attracted a lot
of attention in recent years because they have a fair
amount of wealth and a lot of tourism attractions. So
let's just talk about at the beginning what your main
mission is as the Minister of Culture and Tourism. What
are you supposed to be doing in that role?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
And I think what makes this job very interesting is
the passion it instills in myself and all of my colleagues.
We have something quite special here in Abbi and then
of that Emirates. What's special is that the continuous pursuit
of the enhancement of quality of life. And that's not
just for tourists, for the residents, it's for the amorates
(01:26):
living here. We continuously work hand in hand with all
our colleagues and our partners to create experiences to cater
to their needs. So as you can see in Ablebi
and in the UEE, almost every single year there's addition
of experiences. There's addition of institutions, editions of new concepts
that come in and create these fantastic curated experiences for
(01:49):
people to really chair, USh and enjoy.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
What is the population of Abu Dhabi, So the.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Population of the ue slightly over eleven million people.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
And Abu Dhabi is a fraction of that.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Yes, it's the largest land bank, as I said, the
capital city. You know, we're a little over three and
a half million people.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Your position is to make sure that people come here
and understand what the attractions are of Abu Dhabi. But
you're building a lot of things. So how long have
you been in this position?
Speaker 2 (02:15):
So I've been at Aldaar for twenty years and at
the Department of Culture and Tourism close to ten years.
And you know, I'm very humbled and lucky to be
working for a government that has visionary ideas. Their vision
of investing in culture and culture institutions have not just
(02:35):
been set forth in recent modern times, but from the
inception of this country the idea of basically enhancing it
with entertainment projects, projects that are theme parks, projects that
are public parks, beaches, etc. Has always continuously evolved through
the development of the UE.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
And for those who are not familiar with Abu Dhabi,
when did it become as part of the UAA and
independent country?
Speaker 2 (02:58):
So as a country, it's nineteen seventy one, but its
history and the history of its people have dated back
for thousands of years.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
And the founder of the country was shak Zayed.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Yes the late founder of the country, the late father
Shazaied and Hayan. He was a visionary man through his vision,
you see this country being created that caters to the
wants and needs of its people. And you know it's
been His story is continued on by his son, the
current president, His Highness Chahamed Benzaid.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
When was oil discovered in Abu Aabi?
Speaker 2 (03:31):
So oil was discovered prior to the formation of the country.
It was discovered, and when it was discovered, it was
thought of how am I going to utilize this natural resources?
Like we've always utilized our natural resources to find value,
to create value for our people, I sue.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
But before oil was discovered, the main business in this
part of the world er Abu Dhabi was what.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
You know, through time, we've always utilized our natural resources,
whether it's pearls, whether it's copper. You know, we've always
been a trade partner. You know, our ancient trade routes,
whether it's we're ancient Mesopotamia to ancient China, We've always
traded natural resources throughout time. We've always utilized that. And
just like we've utilized oil, the next step is utilizing
(04:15):
the most important natural resources, which is us people, human beings.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Let's talk about some of the museums you're building or
have already built. So when I want to go see
the Louver, I usually go to Paris. But now I
found out you have your own Louver, just that connected
to the one in Paris.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
By name, but not by curatorial intent or by misography.
So the louver Able of course, is in partnership with
the Louver Paris, as in partnership with AFM, which is
the Asian France Museums. That partnership is a long standing
partnership that continues to flourishes. In that partnership, there is
a there is a transfer of knowledge that's being transferred
(04:54):
to on a daily basis. There's loans that come from
the different French museums. That's compounded with the acquisitions that
we acquire for our assets and with the team building
that we have created from the opening of this museum.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
They lend you some things from time to time and
you lend them something absolutely so are they going to
lend them on a leasha anytime soon?
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Maybe? Maybe? You know. Currently we have a one of
the most beautiful paintings in our museums and at the
Louver is Da Vinci's John the Baptist, and it's quite
beautiful because the way we have the musography of the
Louver Abby is quite interesting because it gives you a
one to one view of everything you're looking at, whether
it's a painting, whether it's an artifact. It is very
(05:35):
sort of inept in creating a passionate interaction with what
you're looking at.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
We're building another art museum of the Gugenheim. Now Louver's
big enough. Why do you need a Googenheim as well
right next door?
Speaker 2 (05:47):
I think it's a great question. It's I think the
beautiful thing about the Ue and Abodabi is we live
with over two hundred nationalities and in doing so, they
have become a part of the countries and the city's fabric,
and we need to celebrate that. So we need to
celebrate everybody's identity, everybody's background, everybody's heritage, everybody's history. And
what a beautiful way in doing so in these beautiful institutions.
(06:09):
These museums are educational institutions and their community institutions. So
we wanted to curate really a story where you come
to saidiat cultural district and you, if you allow me
to curate the story, you start off at the Natural
History Museum, and at the Natural History Museum you get
a glimpse and you get an understanding of how we
came to be, how our earth came to be, how
our universe came to be from a scientific perspective. Once
(06:32):
you leave the Natural History Museum, you go to our
national museum, the Chersaid National Museum. There you understand the
history of this great land, not just the history of
the country, but the people of this land that have
been a part of this land for over three hundred
thousand years. You get a glimpse of what the past
and the present and the future looks like here in
the Ue. From there you maneuver yourself to the Eluf
(06:52):
of Abbababi, which is a beautiful universal museum. It is
universal and stematic approach, so there you basically see a
part of view on an equal pedestal with the entire world.
Then you leave to the Guggenheim able By, which is
a contemporary art museum focusing on art from the late
nineteen forties to today, but it looks at it at
(07:12):
a truly global perspective. So yes, you will see art
from Pollock or Rothko or Bascia or Warhol, but it's
going to be side by side by artists from Kenya
from Nepal, from the Philippines and all over the world.
We have taken it upon ourselves to make sure that
art within the Gugenheim Abaab is showcased not just from
a Western perspective, but a truly global South perspective.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
You're wanting to build a modern contemporary art museum, Why
couldn't you just build one? Why did you have an
affiliation or why do you have an affiliation with Gougenheim?
What can they do for you?
Speaker 2 (07:42):
So some mixture of things similar to the loof first
is a fantastic opportunity of transfer of knowledge, working side
by side with that fantastic team at the Guggenheim in
New York and at the Gougenheim Bilbao and working on
how we can detail this museum together. Compounded by that,
you know, you're taking years and blueprints of acquisition committees,
of curatorial committees, musography committees, and you're taking them and
(08:05):
then you're evolving them to your wants and to your needs.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Museums are great, and I I'm involved with a number
of museums myself the United States, but also there are
performing arts parts of the cultural world. Are you involved
in performing arts as well, absolutely. I mean Unesco designated
as a city of Music. Music is very close to
our heart.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
As I said, you know, when you live with over
two other nationalities, they bring in their musical touches to
the story. So you know, our events calendar is filled
with music from everything from classical music to hip hop,
to pop, to Korean pop to dance, and the list
goes on. And you know since COVID, where the world
told us people are not going to come to these
live events, we have pretty much sold out every single
(08:47):
live musical events catering for all demographics.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
That you build a facility for these as well, yes, sir, yes, sir.
And let me ask you who is going to go
to all these because your population is not that big.
Do you have enough people that can fill up all
these museums and performing arts arenas and so forth.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
So I think first and foremost is the why, as
you rightfully said, why are we building these So when
it comes to our cultural institutions, because we truly believe
that culture is the backbone of any forward thinking society.
Culture has to be embedded in our DNA like it's
always has been, so they're not The institutions were not
built for tourists, that are actually built for the residence
(09:24):
here and for the future generations of residents here in
Abbabi and the United Aldamirates. And of course then you
have the tourism story. Last year we had little under
five point three million tourists. We're looking to target this
year a little bit over six million tourists.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Where are your tourists principally coming from, really from all
over the world.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
But I think if I'm going to look at five time,
my top five destinations, you're looking at the Indian market,
the Chinese market, the Russian market, the UK market, of course,
the Western European markets, whether it's Germany or France. So
they're really coming from everywhere.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
What about the Americans? Are they showing up?
Speaker 2 (09:56):
Absolutely so. We have seen a double digit growth of
the last two years with American tours coming from the US.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
You know, I was chairman of the Smithsonian for a
number of years, and very often when we had a
popular museum attraction, we get calls who people wanted free tickets.
Tickets are free, but they wanted access. If you ever
get that kind of request.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Yeah, And you know, the fact of the matter is,
like I said, these museums are educational institutions. So first
of all, all kids going for free, all military personnel
going for free, anybody over the age of sixty goes
in for free. And then anybody who's doing research gets
a heavily subsidized aspect of their ticket. They also get
(10:34):
the right to basically enter all our research labs. So,
like I said, they are educational and community facilities. What
about private equity people, they go on for free if
they sponsor.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
So as we talk, there's a fair amount of turmoil
in some parts of the Middle East, obviously, but what
about this part of the Middle East? Is it affected
by what's going on in Israel? And Gaza and Syria
and Lebanon are not so affected?
Speaker 2 (11:01):
I think first and foremost, one thing that we all
as human beings look for is peace and harmony. You know,
nobody wants to see devastation happening anywhere around the world,
regardless if it's next to you or not next to you.
The United Emirates is home to two hundred nationalities from
all over the world, different religions, different backgrounds, and the
focus is really on how we keep our community safe
(11:23):
and make sure that basically we work with entire diplomatic
ties to make sure that we can find the solution
that caters for the wants and needs of the overall
world when it comes to peaceful coexistence.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Now in the United States, there's a big concern about
immigration into the country as a political issue. Yes, sir,
here you have a lot of immigrants coming in. More
immigrants live here than people from the native part of
Abu Dhabi. I assume is that a concern or is
that not like a problem?
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Not a problem because the fact the matter is that
we're still a developing country. We're still a developing city.
Everything is done through a well thought of strategy. So
it's not just basically let's open our doors and everybody
come in. You know, you're looking for talent also, you
know teachers, nurses, doctors, engineers. These are people that are
flying in here that are helping us grow.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
So sometimes when populations grow quickly, you see a lot
of crime. You have a lot of crime here.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
It is one of the safest cities in the world.
One because there is a clear strategy and a plan
for that. But two, everybody lives here, loves the way
of life here. They want to sustain it. So everybody
works hand in hand together to sustain that.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
In Europe and the United States, you often see in
major cities homeless people. I haven't seen any here, but
maybe there are some. There's homelessness a problem.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
So when it comes to the local population, and this
is where I always go back and say, you know,
the government continuously works on enhancing the quality of life
of the residents and the locals of the United Emirates.
So US as locals, you know, we have opportunities to
get free land for our housing, So free housing, free
medicare subzed power and water, and a job opportunity. So
(13:04):
you are given the tools to succeed. What you do
after these tools is really up to you.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Let's talk about your own background. So where were you born.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
I was born in Paris, Paris, yes, Sir Paris friends,
and moved back to Abby and grew up here. I
had a fantastic upbringing. You know, the community society was
just amazing to be a part of it, always seeing
a sense of how leadership is so close to the people,
on how it always wants to make sure that the
people are comfortable and happy. You know, my mother did
(13:35):
an amazing job with my siblings and myself. We're very
close together. You know, my brother and my sisters were
all a very tight knit family.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
How many shiplings do you have?
Speaker 2 (13:45):
So I have a older brother and two older sisters,
so we're full of this.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Older brother runs Mubarra, which is an investment or. Yes,
Sir Abu Dhabie and your sisters are they involved in
Abu Dhabi in some way like you are?
Speaker 2 (13:57):
So? My sister Razannel Mobarak, she works for the environmental
agency here nobleb You know, she is an advocator of
sustainability and safeguarding the environment. My other sister as a
studied lawyer and right now she has probably a very
important job which is focusing on her family.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Now, your brother once told me that you have a
big comic book collection. So you still collect that comic books?
And what are you going to do with them?
Speaker 2 (14:26):
So I've I fell in love with comics at a
very early age. You know, I grew up. I remember
as early as I can. Every time I'd find a
Superman comic, or a Batman comic, or an X Men comic,
you know, whether it's DC or Marvel, I basically gobbled
them up. I took them up, and I ran up
to my room and I sat on my corner and
(14:46):
I basically just I love the concept of creating something
so imaginative, creating these worlds, you know, creating these characters
that are actually so detailed, but they have so much
weight to them, emotional weight to them. I love that,
you know. I love the concept of storytelling. And that's
what actually what my job's all about today. It's about storytelling.
(15:06):
Whether it's curating museums with the Fantastic team, whether it's
curating experiences in our theme parks, whether it's curating experiences,
it's storytelling and itself.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Finish your own story. Did you go to college in
the United States or yes, sir.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
So, I went to college in Boston and Northeastern University.
Amazing four years of my life.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
You know, I love study.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
I studied political science and economics. Did study museums, No,
But I was I was always infactuated.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
So when you went to college in Boston, as you
told people you were from Abu Dhabi, what did they say?
So where it was?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
You know? I was lucky, you know, I went to
university and I went to a place where you had
a lot of international university kids from all over the world,
so they knew where U is, they knew where Abbi was,
but they had, you know, not a lot of information
about it. The funny thing right now is every single
student I went to school with has come to the
Abbab And when they've come down here, they've called me
(16:02):
and said, oh, you remember I was with you in
freshman year, I was with you in sophomore years with
here And I said, yeah, of course, remember, he said,
you know we've come here. It is amazing. They ask
you for free tickets to lover sometimes sometimes they do.
Sometimes they do. You know, I don't give my professor's
free tickets, but the students I do.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
If I'm just going to say to you, I'm going
to leave the country in about an hour, I have
to fly back to the United States. I've got an
hour to visit something. What should I visit in my
one hour?
Speaker 2 (16:25):
Due to our infrastructure? What I believe you can do
in an hour? You being a cultural enthusiast, I would
probably recommend you visit the Side Mosque. And you see,
it's this beautiful mosque.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
And one of those gregious mosque in the world.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Absolutely, and it's just it's architectural stunning. You get there,
you get an understanding of this beautiful space. Maybe spend
twenty minutes there, and then if you have an hour,
and then it's a around eight to ten minute drive
to Russell Husson, the oldest standing fort here in Abodabi.
It's in the center of the city. You also get
a view of the entire sort of city. Spend twenty
(17:01):
minutes there and then you shoot out. Eight minutes later
you're at the Louver Bladubby and then you're off the
airport and currently at the Louverbadubby, we have an amazing
post impressionist exhibition. If you get a chance, it's amazing,
some amazing Van goghs. So you tick that box.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
You've had some NBA pre season games here, sir. Are
you planning and bringing any NBA teams here permanently or
just for pre season?
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Sports and itself brings people together regardless what your background.
So we're big on sports entertainment.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
You know.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
We've started that the with Formula one in not just
focusing on the sport itself, but creating musical experiences, food
and beverage experiences, retail experiences, all engulfed over a weekend
and the whole city basically celebrates Formula one. Then you
took it to another step further where we took the
engineering and the sports excellence component and we've embedded it
(17:50):
within our school programs and our different educational programs. And
it's because since we've started Formula one to where we
are today now we have a strong of female drivers,
male drivers racing in all aspects of racing within the
UE and beyond. So it is really a long term
partnership story with the sport itself. Same thing with UFC.
(18:12):
We brought in UFC. Prior to the UFC investment, there
was an investment in the sports ju jitsu. Jiu jitsu
became a national sport and today we have over seven
hundred and fifty thousand jiu jitsu fighters here in the
UE that have won global medals from all over the world.
You can clearly see that we are investing not just
in the sport, but in the infrastructure, both hard and soft.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
So Abu Dhabi is part of the UAE, is part
of what's called the Golf Cooperation Council, which is a
number of countries that are blessed with having some oil.
I would say, most of them have a fair amount
of oil. They include Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain.
So are these other countries Shiella's saying, hey, don't bring
(18:52):
all these tours just to your country, because we want
to have some tours too, because they don't have anything
quite like you have. Did they ever mention this to you?
Speaker 2 (19:00):
You know? On the contrary, you know, we've heard sort
of press outside press talk about, for example, competitiveness between
even Abadabi and Dubai. But the fact of the matter
is is we all are complementary, similar to what we
see in places like the US or even Europe, just
because of the size of the US. But we will
fly to the US, you know, their bucket list is
to go to New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans,
(19:22):
and the list goes on. Same thing. In Europe, it's Paris,
it's London, it's Rome, it's Milan, and the list goes on.
When it comes to this region, like I said, it
is widely connected, it is in close proximity to each other.
So the tourists in reality will go to Dubai, Abbo, Dabi, Rial, Doha.
(19:44):
So we're really all complimenting each other with different experiences.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Let's talk about another side of your life, which is
building hotels or refurbishing hotels or apartment buildings, residential and
so forth. So this area has grown so much that
it is seen at some parts people on the buy
are saying that there's not enough residential properties anymore for
people who want to live here and work here. Are
(20:07):
you building more residential properties in Abu Dhabi? And it
is just a real problem. Absolutely, it is a problem.
It's a good problem to have.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
You know, you look at basically the growth story of
a company like Aldar. You know, in two thousand and
eight we were launching two to three developments a year.
Fast forward to this year, I've launched fourteen new developments,
so the scale is significantly larger. Our market cap has
grown five folds, so.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
Your company is a publicly traded company.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Yes, sir. One of the things that is you talk
about the development aspect. So our development pipeline has grown
eight folds. If you look at just from a numbers perspective,
you know you're going to say, who's buying here? In
twenty and twenty one, eleven percent of my portfolio we're
international buyers twenty and twenty four close to thirty percent.
And these buyers are coming from all over the world,
(20:57):
predominantly coming from Southeast Asia, Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe.
And you might say why now, Why is to me
is a very easy is a very easy question, because
they're coming to a place where there is, like I said,
a continuous pursuit for quality of life. Are the safest
cities in the world where safety comes first, Medicare comes first.
(21:19):
The investment of government in education, medicare, infrastructure, public safety
is always front of mind. It's a place where it
is continuously evolving to create policies to cater for the
needs of the investor, cater for the needs of the buyer,
of the homeowner. You look at all of our sort
of sovereign funds, the mobidelas, the IHCs, the adqs of
(21:41):
this world, the ages of this world. Not only are
they investing outside, but they're also investing within in very
important sectors agritech ai, education, infrastructure, logistics. That is creating
massive job opportunities in the UEE, and people from all
over the world are taking these opportunities. So I almost
look at the u today is a place that is
(22:01):
the land of opportunity.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
People are coming here and they're buying apartments. You don't
have to be a citizen of Abu Dhabi to buy
an apartment, no, sir. And when you buy a part
in an apartment here, can you become a citizen here
or how hard it is to be a citizen or
you don't need to be a citizen to live here, So.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
You don't need to be a citizen to live here.
In terms of your acquisitions, there's new policies that have
been added, so long term residencies, golden visas for you
and for the entire family household, short term residency visas,
and also at the same time there's opportunities for nationalization.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
You have no plans do something else in government or
you're going to stay in the private sector completely. At
some point, what is your future?
Speaker 2 (22:39):
The future reallylies on the idea that we have to stop.
We don't have to stop. We have to continuously evolve,
we have to continuously be better. We have to continuously
cater to the needs of what our future generation wants.
And that's what makes the job special because you're always
thinking about the future. This is what makes the ue
special is what's next for us.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
Let's suppose you were to summarize what you would like
the average person in the world to know about Abu Dhabi.
What would you say is the message you want to
convey to people about this country.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
Seeing is believing, you know. The fact of the matter is,
I think we hear a lot of things, but in reality,
you know, take a step further, you know, do your
research and come because once you see what's happening here,
it is very very special. It's a place that is
really a place of belonging, a place of connectivity, a
(23:28):
place of understanding. And everything we are doing is for
the next generation and thenjration after that, So I would
love for everybody is to be a part of that
with us.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Thanks for listening to hear more of my interviews. You
can subscribe and download my podcast on Spotify, Apple, or
wherever you listen.
People who want to see great art often go to
the Louver in Paris, but now there's another Louver. It's
an Abu Dhabi and it's about to be a Guggenheim
in Abu Dhabi as well. Who's behind building these museums
and other cultural attractions in Abu Dhabi. It's Mohammed al Mubark.
He's the chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism
in Abu Dhabi, and I sat down with him recently
in his office to talk about why Abu Dhabi wants
(00:24):
to be a major cultural center and tourist attraction For
those people who aren't familiar with Abu Dhabi. Where is
Abu Dhabi.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
So, Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Emirates.
It sits in the Arabian Peninsula. We are a connecting
point between east and West from present day and throughout
our history.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
The other major city that people know in UAE is Dubai, Yes, sir,
and so Dubai and Abu Dhabi have attracted a lot
of attention in recent years because they have a fair
amount of wealth and a lot of tourism attractions. So
let's just talk about at the beginning what your main
mission is as the Minister of Culture and Tourism. What
are you supposed to be doing in that role?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
And I think what makes this job very interesting is
the passion it instills in myself and all of my colleagues.
We have something quite special here in Abbi and then
of that Emirates. What's special is that the continuous pursuit
of the enhancement of quality of life. And that's not
just for tourists, for the residents, it's for the amorates
(01:26):
living here. We continuously work hand in hand with all
our colleagues and our partners to create experiences to cater
to their needs. So as you can see in Ablebi
and in the UEE, almost every single year there's addition
of experiences. There's addition of institutions, editions of new concepts
that come in and create these fantastic curated experiences for
(01:49):
people to really chair, USh and enjoy.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
What is the population of Abu Dhabi, So the.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Population of the ue slightly over eleven million people.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
And Abu Dhabi is a fraction of that.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Yes, it's the largest land bank, as I said, the
capital city. You know, we're a little over three and
a half million people.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Your position is to make sure that people come here
and understand what the attractions are of Abu Dhabi. But
you're building a lot of things. So how long have
you been in this position?
Speaker 2 (02:15):
So I've been at Aldaar for twenty years and at
the Department of Culture and Tourism close to ten years.
And you know, I'm very humbled and lucky to be
working for a government that has visionary ideas. Their vision
of investing in culture and culture institutions have not just
(02:35):
been set forth in recent modern times, but from the
inception of this country the idea of basically enhancing it
with entertainment projects, projects that are theme parks, projects that
are public parks, beaches, etc. Has always continuously evolved through
the development of the UE.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
And for those who are not familiar with Abu Dhabi,
when did it become as part of the UAA and
independent country?
Speaker 2 (02:58):
So as a country, it's nineteen seventy one, but its
history and the history of its people have dated back
for thousands of years.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
And the founder of the country was shak Zayed.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Yes the late founder of the country, the late father
Shazaied and Hayan. He was a visionary man through his vision,
you see this country being created that caters to the
wants and needs of its people. And you know it's
been His story is continued on by his son, the
current president, His Highness Chahamed Benzaid.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
When was oil discovered in Abu Aabi?
Speaker 2 (03:31):
So oil was discovered prior to the formation of the country.
It was discovered, and when it was discovered, it was
thought of how am I going to utilize this natural resources?
Like we've always utilized our natural resources to find value,
to create value for our people, I sue.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
But before oil was discovered, the main business in this
part of the world er Abu Dhabi was what.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
You know, through time, we've always utilized our natural resources,
whether it's pearls, whether it's copper. You know, we've always
been a trade partner. You know, our ancient trade routes,
whether it's we're ancient Mesopotamia to ancient China, We've always
traded natural resources throughout time. We've always utilized that. And
just like we've utilized oil, the next step is utilizing
(04:15):
the most important natural resources, which is us people, human beings.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Let's talk about some of the museums you're building or
have already built. So when I want to go see
the Louver, I usually go to Paris. But now I
found out you have your own Louver, just that connected
to the one in Paris.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
By name, but not by curatorial intent or by misography.
So the louver Able of course, is in partnership with
the Louver Paris, as in partnership with AFM, which is
the Asian France Museums. That partnership is a long standing
partnership that continues to flourishes. In that partnership, there is
a there is a transfer of knowledge that's being transferred
(04:54):
to on a daily basis. There's loans that come from
the different French museums. That's compounded with the acquisitions that
we acquire for our assets and with the team building
that we have created from the opening of this museum.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
They lend you some things from time to time and
you lend them something absolutely so are they going to
lend them on a leasha anytime soon?
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Maybe? Maybe? You know. Currently we have a one of
the most beautiful paintings in our museums and at the
Louver is Da Vinci's John the Baptist, and it's quite
beautiful because the way we have the musography of the
Louver Abby is quite interesting because it gives you a
one to one view of everything you're looking at, whether
it's a painting, whether it's an artifact. It is very
(05:35):
sort of inept in creating a passionate interaction with what
you're looking at.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
We're building another art museum of the Gugenheim. Now Louver's
big enough. Why do you need a Googenheim as well
right next door?
Speaker 2 (05:47):
I think it's a great question. It's I think the
beautiful thing about the Ue and Abodabi is we live
with over two hundred nationalities and in doing so, they
have become a part of the countries and the city's fabric,
and we need to celebrate that. So we need to
celebrate everybody's identity, everybody's background, everybody's heritage, everybody's history. And
what a beautiful way in doing so in these beautiful institutions.
(06:09):
These museums are educational institutions and their community institutions. So
we wanted to curate really a story where you come
to saidiat cultural district and you, if you allow me
to curate the story, you start off at the Natural
History Museum, and at the Natural History Museum you get
a glimpse and you get an understanding of how we
came to be, how our earth came to be, how
our universe came to be from a scientific perspective. Once
(06:32):
you leave the Natural History Museum, you go to our
national museum, the Chersaid National Museum. There you understand the
history of this great land, not just the history of
the country, but the people of this land that have
been a part of this land for over three hundred
thousand years. You get a glimpse of what the past
and the present and the future looks like here in
the Ue. From there you maneuver yourself to the Eluf
(06:52):
of Abbababi, which is a beautiful universal museum. It is
universal and stematic approach, so there you basically see a
part of view on an equal pedestal with the entire world.
Then you leave to the Guggenheim able By, which is
a contemporary art museum focusing on art from the late
nineteen forties to today, but it looks at it at
(07:12):
a truly global perspective. So yes, you will see art
from Pollock or Rothko or Bascia or Warhol, but it's
going to be side by side by artists from Kenya
from Nepal, from the Philippines and all over the world.
We have taken it upon ourselves to make sure that
art within the Gugenheim Abaab is showcased not just from
a Western perspective, but a truly global South perspective.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
You're wanting to build a modern contemporary art museum, Why
couldn't you just build one? Why did you have an
affiliation or why do you have an affiliation with Gougenheim?
What can they do for you?
Speaker 2 (07:42):
So some mixture of things similar to the loof first
is a fantastic opportunity of transfer of knowledge, working side
by side with that fantastic team at the Guggenheim in
New York and at the Gougenheim Bilbao and working on
how we can detail this museum together. Compounded by that,
you know, you're taking years and blueprints of acquisition committees,
of curatorial committees, musography committees, and you're taking them and
(08:05):
then you're evolving them to your wants and to your needs.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Museums are great, and I I'm involved with a number
of museums myself the United States, but also there are
performing arts parts of the cultural world. Are you involved
in performing arts as well, absolutely. I mean Unesco designated
as a city of Music. Music is very close to
our heart.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
As I said, you know, when you live with over
two other nationalities, they bring in their musical touches to
the story. So you know, our events calendar is filled
with music from everything from classical music to hip hop,
to pop, to Korean pop to dance, and the list
goes on. And you know since COVID, where the world
told us people are not going to come to these
live events, we have pretty much sold out every single
(08:47):
live musical events catering for all demographics.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
That you build a facility for these as well, yes, sir, yes, sir.
And let me ask you who is going to go
to all these because your population is not that big.
Do you have enough people that can fill up all
these museums and performing arts arenas and so forth.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
So I think first and foremost is the why, as
you rightfully said, why are we building these So when
it comes to our cultural institutions, because we truly believe
that culture is the backbone of any forward thinking society.
Culture has to be embedded in our DNA like it's
always has been, so they're not The institutions were not
built for tourists, that are actually built for the residence
(09:24):
here and for the future generations of residents here in
Abbabi and the United Aldamirates. And of course then you
have the tourism story. Last year we had little under
five point three million tourists. We're looking to target this
year a little bit over six million tourists.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Where are your tourists principally coming from, really from all
over the world.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
But I think if I'm going to look at five time,
my top five destinations, you're looking at the Indian market,
the Chinese market, the Russian market, the UK market, of course,
the Western European markets, whether it's Germany or France. So
they're really coming from everywhere.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
What about the Americans? Are they showing up?
Speaker 2 (09:56):
Absolutely so. We have seen a double digit growth of
the last two years with American tours coming from the US.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
You know, I was chairman of the Smithsonian for a
number of years, and very often when we had a
popular museum attraction, we get calls who people wanted free tickets.
Tickets are free, but they wanted access. If you ever
get that kind of request.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Yeah, And you know, the fact of the matter is,
like I said, these museums are educational institutions. So first
of all, all kids going for free, all military personnel
going for free, anybody over the age of sixty goes
in for free. And then anybody who's doing research gets
a heavily subsidized aspect of their ticket. They also get
(10:34):
the right to basically enter all our research labs. So,
like I said, they are educational and community facilities. What
about private equity people, they go on for free if
they sponsor.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
So as we talk, there's a fair amount of turmoil
in some parts of the Middle East, obviously, but what
about this part of the Middle East? Is it affected
by what's going on in Israel? And Gaza and Syria
and Lebanon are not so affected?
Speaker 2 (11:01):
I think first and foremost, one thing that we all
as human beings look for is peace and harmony. You know,
nobody wants to see devastation happening anywhere around the world,
regardless if it's next to you or not next to you.
The United Emirates is home to two hundred nationalities from
all over the world, different religions, different backgrounds, and the
focus is really on how we keep our community safe
(11:23):
and make sure that basically we work with entire diplomatic
ties to make sure that we can find the solution
that caters for the wants and needs of the overall
world when it comes to peaceful coexistence.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Now in the United States, there's a big concern about
immigration into the country as a political issue. Yes, sir,
here you have a lot of immigrants coming in. More
immigrants live here than people from the native part of
Abu Dhabi. I assume is that a concern or is
that not like a problem?
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Not a problem because the fact the matter is that
we're still a developing country. We're still a developing city.
Everything is done through a well thought of strategy. So
it's not just basically let's open our doors and everybody
come in. You know, you're looking for talent also, you
know teachers, nurses, doctors, engineers. These are people that are
flying in here that are helping us grow.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
So sometimes when populations grow quickly, you see a lot
of crime. You have a lot of crime here.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
It is one of the safest cities in the world.
One because there is a clear strategy and a plan
for that. But two, everybody lives here, loves the way
of life here. They want to sustain it. So everybody
works hand in hand together to sustain that.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
In Europe and the United States, you often see in
major cities homeless people. I haven't seen any here, but
maybe there are some. There's homelessness a problem.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
So when it comes to the local population, and this
is where I always go back and say, you know,
the government continuously works on enhancing the quality of life
of the residents and the locals of the United Emirates.
So US as locals, you know, we have opportunities to
get free land for our housing, So free housing, free
medicare subzed power and water, and a job opportunity. So
(13:04):
you are given the tools to succeed. What you do
after these tools is really up to you.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Let's talk about your own background. So where were you born.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
I was born in Paris, Paris, yes, Sir Paris friends,
and moved back to Abby and grew up here. I
had a fantastic upbringing. You know, the community society was
just amazing to be a part of it, always seeing
a sense of how leadership is so close to the people,
on how it always wants to make sure that the
people are comfortable and happy. You know, my mother did
(13:35):
an amazing job with my siblings and myself. We're very
close together. You know, my brother and my sisters were
all a very tight knit family.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
How many shiplings do you have?
Speaker 2 (13:45):
So I have a older brother and two older sisters,
so we're full of this.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Older brother runs Mubarra, which is an investment or. Yes,
Sir Abu Dhabie and your sisters are they involved in
Abu Dhabi in some way like you are?
Speaker 2 (13:57):
So? My sister Razannel Mobarak, she works for the environmental
agency here nobleb You know, she is an advocator of
sustainability and safeguarding the environment. My other sister as a
studied lawyer and right now she has probably a very
important job which is focusing on her family.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Now, your brother once told me that you have a
big comic book collection. So you still collect that comic books?
And what are you going to do with them?
Speaker 2 (14:26):
So I've I fell in love with comics at a
very early age. You know, I grew up. I remember
as early as I can. Every time I'd find a
Superman comic, or a Batman comic, or an X Men comic,
you know, whether it's DC or Marvel, I basically gobbled
them up. I took them up, and I ran up
to my room and I sat on my corner and
(14:46):
I basically just I love the concept of creating something
so imaginative, creating these worlds, you know, creating these characters
that are actually so detailed, but they have so much
weight to them, emotional weight to them. I love that,
you know. I love the concept of storytelling. And that's
what actually what my job's all about today. It's about storytelling.
(15:06):
Whether it's curating museums with the Fantastic team, whether it's
curating experiences in our theme parks, whether it's curating experiences,
it's storytelling and itself.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Finish your own story. Did you go to college in
the United States or yes, sir.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
So, I went to college in Boston and Northeastern University.
Amazing four years of my life.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
You know, I love study.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
I studied political science and economics. Did study museums, No,
But I was I was always infactuated.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
So when you went to college in Boston, as you
told people you were from Abu Dhabi, what did they say?
So where it was?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
You know? I was lucky, you know, I went to
university and I went to a place where you had
a lot of international university kids from all over the world,
so they knew where U is, they knew where Abbi was,
but they had, you know, not a lot of information
about it. The funny thing right now is every single
student I went to school with has come to the
Abbab And when they've come down here, they've called me
(16:02):
and said, oh, you remember I was with you in
freshman year, I was with you in sophomore years with
here And I said, yeah, of course, remember, he said,
you know we've come here. It is amazing. They ask
you for free tickets to lover sometimes sometimes they do.
Sometimes they do. You know, I don't give my professor's
free tickets, but the students I do.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
If I'm just going to say to you, I'm going
to leave the country in about an hour, I have
to fly back to the United States. I've got an
hour to visit something. What should I visit in my
one hour?
Speaker 2 (16:25):
Due to our infrastructure? What I believe you can do
in an hour? You being a cultural enthusiast, I would
probably recommend you visit the Side Mosque. And you see,
it's this beautiful mosque.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
And one of those gregious mosque in the world.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Absolutely, and it's just it's architectural stunning. You get there,
you get an understanding of this beautiful space. Maybe spend
twenty minutes there, and then if you have an hour,
and then it's a around eight to ten minute drive
to Russell Husson, the oldest standing fort here in Abodabi.
It's in the center of the city. You also get
a view of the entire sort of city. Spend twenty
(17:01):
minutes there and then you shoot out. Eight minutes later
you're at the Louver Bladubby and then you're off the
airport and currently at the Louverbadubby, we have an amazing
post impressionist exhibition. If you get a chance, it's amazing,
some amazing Van goghs. So you tick that box.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
You've had some NBA pre season games here, sir. Are
you planning and bringing any NBA teams here permanently or
just for pre season?
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Sports and itself brings people together regardless what your background.
So we're big on sports entertainment.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
You know.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
We've started that the with Formula one in not just
focusing on the sport itself, but creating musical experiences, food
and beverage experiences, retail experiences, all engulfed over a weekend
and the whole city basically celebrates Formula one. Then you
took it to another step further where we took the
engineering and the sports excellence component and we've embedded it
(17:50):
within our school programs and our different educational programs. And
it's because since we've started Formula one to where we
are today now we have a strong of female drivers,
male drivers racing in all aspects of racing within the
UE and beyond. So it is really a long term
partnership story with the sport itself. Same thing with UFC.
(18:12):
We brought in UFC. Prior to the UFC investment, there
was an investment in the sports ju jitsu. Jiu jitsu
became a national sport and today we have over seven
hundred and fifty thousand jiu jitsu fighters here in the
UE that have won global medals from all over the world.
You can clearly see that we are investing not just
in the sport, but in the infrastructure, both hard and soft.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
So Abu Dhabi is part of the UAE, is part
of what's called the Golf Cooperation Council, which is a
number of countries that are blessed with having some oil.
I would say, most of them have a fair amount
of oil. They include Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain.
So are these other countries Shiella's saying, hey, don't bring
(18:52):
all these tours just to your country, because we want
to have some tours too, because they don't have anything
quite like you have. Did they ever mention this to you?
Speaker 2 (19:00):
You know? On the contrary, you know, we've heard sort
of press outside press talk about, for example, competitiveness between
even Abadabi and Dubai. But the fact of the matter
is is we all are complementary, similar to what we
see in places like the US or even Europe, just
because of the size of the US. But we will
fly to the US, you know, their bucket list is
to go to New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans,
(19:22):
and the list goes on. Same thing. In Europe, it's Paris,
it's London, it's Rome, it's Milan, and the list goes on.
When it comes to this region, like I said, it
is widely connected, it is in close proximity to each other.
So the tourists in reality will go to Dubai, Abbo, Dabi, Rial, Doha.
(19:44):
So we're really all complimenting each other with different experiences.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Let's talk about another side of your life, which is
building hotels or refurbishing hotels or apartment buildings, residential and
so forth. So this area has grown so much that
it is seen at some parts people on the buy
are saying that there's not enough residential properties anymore for
people who want to live here and work here. Are
(20:07):
you building more residential properties in Abu Dhabi? And it
is just a real problem. Absolutely, it is a problem.
It's a good problem to have.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
You know, you look at basically the growth story of
a company like Aldar. You know, in two thousand and
eight we were launching two to three developments a year.
Fast forward to this year, I've launched fourteen new developments,
so the scale is significantly larger. Our market cap has
grown five folds, so.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
Your company is a publicly traded company.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Yes, sir. One of the things that is you talk
about the development aspect. So our development pipeline has grown
eight folds. If you look at just from a numbers perspective,
you know you're going to say, who's buying here? In
twenty and twenty one, eleven percent of my portfolio we're
international buyers twenty and twenty four close to thirty percent.
And these buyers are coming from all over the world,
(20:57):
predominantly coming from Southeast Asia, Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe.
And you might say why now, Why is to me
is a very easy is a very easy question, because
they're coming to a place where there is, like I said,
a continuous pursuit for quality of life. Are the safest
cities in the world where safety comes first, Medicare comes first.
(21:19):
The investment of government in education, medicare, infrastructure, public safety
is always front of mind. It's a place where it
is continuously evolving to create policies to cater for the
needs of the investor, cater for the needs of the buyer,
of the homeowner. You look at all of our sort
of sovereign funds, the mobidelas, the IHCs, the adqs of
(21:41):
this world, the ages of this world. Not only are
they investing outside, but they're also investing within in very
important sectors agritech ai, education, infrastructure, logistics. That is creating
massive job opportunities in the UEE, and people from all
over the world are taking these opportunities. So I almost
look at the u today is a place that is
(22:01):
the land of opportunity.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
People are coming here and they're buying apartments. You don't
have to be a citizen of Abu Dhabi to buy
an apartment, no, sir. And when you buy a part
in an apartment here, can you become a citizen here
or how hard it is to be a citizen or
you don't need to be a citizen to live here, So.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
You don't need to be a citizen to live here.
In terms of your acquisitions, there's new policies that have
been added, so long term residencies, golden visas for you
and for the entire family household, short term residency visas,
and also at the same time there's opportunities for nationalization.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
You have no plans do something else in government or
you're going to stay in the private sector completely. At
some point, what is your future?
Speaker 2 (22:39):
The future reallylies on the idea that we have to stop.
We don't have to stop. We have to continuously evolve,
we have to continuously be better. We have to continuously
cater to the needs of what our future generation wants.
And that's what makes the job special because you're always
thinking about the future. This is what makes the ue
special is what's next for us.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
Let's suppose you were to summarize what you would like
the average person in the world to know about Abu Dhabi.
What would you say is the message you want to
convey to people about this country.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
Seeing is believing, you know. The fact of the matter is,
I think we hear a lot of things, but in reality,
you know, take a step further, you know, do your
research and come because once you see what's happening here,
it is very very special. It's a place that is
really a place of belonging, a place of connectivity, a
(23:28):
place of understanding. And everything we are doing is for
the next generation and thenjration after that, So I would
love for everybody is to be a part of that
with us.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Thanks for listening to hear more of my interviews. You
can subscribe and download my podcast on Spotify, Apple, or
wherever you listen.
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