The UAE has been ranked first regionally and third globally in the ‘Tolerance Index of the 2016 Yearbook’ issued by the International Institute for Management in Switzerland, released ahead of International Day for Tolerance on 16 November 2016.

“The UAE’s performance in the Tolerance Index reflects the extent of tolerance, understanding and openness enjoyed by all who live in the UAE, as more than 200 nationalities live in the country in acceptance and understanding,” said Reem Al Hashemi, Minister of State for International Cooperation and Chairperson of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority.

“The UAE has long played a leading and a global role in the fields of the cultures and religious dialogue without discrimination as well as the regional and international role played by the state in the renunciation of violence, extremism, hatred, and contempt of others,” she added.

In it’s Tolerance Agenda, the UAE’s government has enshrined seven unique “pillars of tolerance”, each of which promote tolerance in their own way: Islam, the UAE Constitution, the legacy of the late Shaikh Zayed, archaeology and history, human nature, and common values.