Abdullah swears in Emirati diplomats

ABU DHABI // More than 100 Emirati diplomats have been sworn in by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the foreign minister, in a step towards bolstering the number of nationals staffing the country's expanding number of missions. The 125 "young diplomats", 73 men and 52 women, were inducted in a ceremony on Tuesday at the Fairmont Bab al Bahar hotel. Sheikh Abdullah said the ministry was determined to attract qualified Emiratis who were "capable of serving their homeland and better representing it internally or externally", according to WAM, the state news agency.

The trained diplomats, whom Sheikh Abdullah called the "mirror of the country", are part of the UAE's focus on training its population "to deal with modern-age requirements". The UAE has a network of 77 embassies, and new ones are planned in Kenya, Uganda and Chile. kshaheen@thenational.ae