Page 374 - UAE Truncal States

The Formation of the Federation

Arabia, either the Ruler or Shaikh KhalTfah visiting monthly.
In an interview with The Times in London, published on 9 October
1968, the Ruler of Abu Dhabi maintained that in his view the ideal
I federation was that of the nine Slates, but if that proved loo difficult
to realise at present, a federation of the seven Trucial States was still
better than a union of only three or four of them. Yet, initially, even a
smaller union comprising Abu Dhabi and two or three other Emirates
would be belter than nothing.
The routine autumn meeting of theTrucial States Council was held
on 13 October 1968. The seven Rulers discussed, under British
auspices, development projects, and agreed on a budget of £2 million
and a supplementary budget of £300,000.
A constructive atmosphere was maintained at the fourth meeting
of the Supreme Council of nine Rulers in Doha on 20 to 22 October
1968. It was agreed to set up six more committees, such as for
education, health, immigration and nationality problems, each based
in one of the larger capitals. The most important agreement was to
form federal land, air and naval forces under a unified command to
replace the British forces after their withdrawal at the end of 1971.
Two military experts were to advise on this organisation. The
individual States could retain their own national guards.38
By now the Rulers, their families and their advisers had accepted
that by joining in a federation they had to acknowledge the authority
of federal institutions. Frequent declarations by the Ruler of the
richest member slate, Shaikh Zayid, stressing that “Abu Dhabi’s oil
and all its resources and potentialities are at the service of all the
Amirates,”39 encouraged the poorer member States on the Trucial
Coast, who could testify that such words were often followed by
generous deeds. To have such a fervent advocate and generous
supporter of the federal idea greatly benefited the Union,.particularly
in the eyes of sceptical foreign observers. It also counterbalanced
Qatar’s persistent pressure to proceed more rapidly with the
formalities of building the federation.
On 26 to 28 November the Temporary Union Council met in
Sharjah40 and decided to ask the World Bank for help in preparing an
economic study of the member States and Britain for expert military
advice on the Union’s defence needs. A former Commander of British
Land Forces in the Middle East, Major-General Sir John Willoughby,
was invited in December to become senior military adviser to the
Union.
There was a lapse of more than half a year before the Supreme

349