His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Thursday congratulated a newly married Emirati couple on their simple wedding.

His Highness said on Twitter, “This is Hoda Ahly whom I congratulated as avtop achiever in high school in 2012 … Hoda is completing her doctoral thesis now in electronic plastics from Imperial College University in London … and Mohammad Al Amiri is completing his doctoral thesis in the genome from University College London .. Congratulations on your simple wedding … with our specialist cadres, the nation rises.’

Dr. Hoda Ahly said, “I am still remembering Your Highness’s call to me… it was a strong stimulant to me to achieve my dream and to give back to my home…thanks for the most beautiful surprise.”  

She also said, “I believe that the UAE, with its leadership, youth and competence, is able to reach a top place globally in the field of solar cells manufacturing.”

Dr. Hoda Ahly developed a third generation of transparent solar cells, and her PhD’s specialisation comes in line with the UAE’s orientation towards sustainable energy that has a great impact on the economic growth. It also serves the state’s energy strategy for 2050, which states that 44 per cent of energy productivity in the country will be a from clean energy sources.

For his part, Dr. Mohammed Salem Al Amri, a specialist in paediatric leukaemia genetics, said: “The congratulations of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid were a pride and honour to us…the gesture is a strong motivation for youth wishing to marry to necessarily rationalise wedding expenses and save them for their lives … Thank you, Your Highness.”

 Recently, Sheikh Mohammed surprised dozens of newly married Emiratis who organised simple and low-cost wedding parties in their homes as a result of COVID-19 pandemic with special greeting cards signed by him.

At a time when wedding parties have witnessed a new culture and became simpler and affordable with costs that focused on priorities and the happiness of families, relatives and friends, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid decided to congratulate his sons and daughters and stressed that the true value of marriage aims at building a coherent, interconnected UAE family which is filled with love and synergy.