50 Years | 50 Faces: Have a look at 50 unique moments celebrating 50 years of UAE-US friendship

50 Years | 50 Faces is a two-year-long digital storytelling campaign produced by the UAE Embassy in the US, featuring contributions from prominent and lesser-prominent Emiratis and Americans. Their stories range from today to 50 years ago, and everywhere in between.

The series features dozens of faces sharing personal narratives and anecdotes that reflect on the breath and depth of the UAE-US bilateral relations. It’s time to explore these unique moments and the deep friendship they represent.

The UAE and US share an outlook for a more prosperous, peaceful and inclusive global community. This vision is prominently reflected in the diverse stories told by participants as part of the 50 Years | 50 Faces storytelling campaign.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by UAE Union Day عيد الاتحاد (@unionday.ae)

Bush’s trip highlights closeness of UAE-US friendship

The participants include “artists and athletes, educators and entertainers, poets and even presidents,” said Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to the US. He shared his earliest US memories as a student-athlete at Georgetown University.

Cooperation between the two countries has flourished over the years. The UAE and US have deepened trade, investment and commercial cooperation in the technology and renewable energy sectors, in addition to several other notable developments.

The closeness of this relationship has come under the spotlight a number of times, including in 2008 as former President George Bush became the first sitting US President to visit the UAE. During the trip, he stressed the meaningful bond between the two nations.

UAE emerging as leader in space science and exploration

The Emirates turned 50 in 2021 and Bush shared a message celebrating the UAE’s Golden Jubilee. “You have succeeded in raising a prosperous society out of the desert … America is a proud ally,” the 43rd President of the US noted.

The 50 Years | 50 Faces campaign includes stories of NASA scientist Dr. Farouk El-Baz, Emirati researcher Dr. Noora Alsaeed, Emirates Mars Mission director Omran Sharaf, and Emirati astronaut candidates Noora AlMatrooshi and Mohammad AlMulla.

The faces together showcase the evolution of the UAE’s space program and its close cooperation with the US from 1974 to 2024. From launching the Arab world’s first Mission to Mars to signing the Artemis Accord, the Gulf state is rapidly emerging as a leader.

Diplomatic and strategic partnership between UAE and US

The campaign also highlighted stories of former US secretary of state Dr. Condoleezza Rice and secretaries of defense William Cohen and General James Mattis. They reinforced the key diplomatic and strategic partnership between the US and the UAE over decades.

Former US ambassador to the UAE Marcelle Wahba and UAE Federal National Council member Dr. Ali Al Nuaimi both underscored how people from the UAE and the US supported each other in the aftermath of 9/11, delivering further interesting insights into the UAE-US friendship.

In addition, artistic directors Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo and Bill Bragin, visual artists Sarah Ahli and Maisoon Al Saleh, composer Ihab Darwish and slam poet Dorian Paul Rogers represented the wide array of UAE-US cultural collaborations and crossovers.

Read More: UAE Food Bank announces annual results for 2023