The National: The National
21 December 2009 - The National
Nick Cochrane-Dyet, a senior adviser with BP, has seen Abu Dhabi grow over the past 40 years.
Someone who has known Abu Dhabi for more than 40 years might be forgiven for losing the capacity to be impressed by the changes here.
If you had seen the capital grow from a sleepy desert town to an ambitious, burgeoning world city perhaps the latest new developments would leave you cold.
But not a bit of it in the case of Nick Cochrane-Dyet.
The Briton, aged 52, said he was bowled over by the Yas Marina Circuit when he attended the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last month.
“Yas Island was just unbelievable, what they did with the Formula One in the period given, with 600 million people watching [on television] when they were showing off Abu Dhabi,” he said. “I was very proud to be part of that.”
Impressed though Mr Cochrane-Dyet was with the Grand Prix and other recent projects, he said the past 10 years had seen other developments more significant than the emirate’s construction boom.
Changes in the way the emirate is governed, its education standards, its commitment to preserving its history, its cultural openness and its recent efforts to diversify economically rank at the top of what Mr Cochrane-Dyet described as a “pretty amazing” decade for Abu Dhabi and the UAE.
“The more I think about it, the more I realise [how much] has happened in the past 10 years,” he said.
“Lots has happened in the 40 years I’ve known Abu Dhabi, but if you think about it, the more recent stuff, it’s just as remarkable as some of the earlier stuff.
“The fact you can go and watch the opera, or go and watch Elton John play; whether you’re old or young, there’s entertainment on a scale we’ve never seen before.
“We’ve got our own airline that in the decade since it was launched has become airline of the year,” he added, referring to Etihad Airways recently being named the World’s Leading Airline at the World Travel Awards. We have got amazing exhibitions. There’s the World Future Energy Summit that has attracted some amazing first-class speakers and heads of state. People want to come here.
“We’ve got [the Government-owned development company] Mubadala and the way they are looking at diversifying away from the oil industry for the long-term future of the country.”
He also cited greater openness in the press and the elections for the board of directors at Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry as other examples of how society had developed.
“It’s that concept of moving to where people have a voice and people can vote. It’s another demonstration of progress,” he said.
“Sheikh Zayed was a visionary. He talked about the future. Today, the regime can put it on a computer. You can read all about the 2030 plan.”
It is all a far cry from the Abu Dhabi that Mr Cochrane-Dyet remembers as a child.
From 1965 to 1969, his father was an officer in the Trucial Oman Scouts, the forerunner to the UAE Armed Forces, and lived in Al Ain’s Jahili Fort. Mr Cochrane-Dyet would visit his father there during holidays from school in England. “There was no schooling here then,” he said.
“What’s changed in the last 40 years … what’s been achieved is just remarkable. You could never have dreamt it.”
Mr Cochrane-Dyet moved to Abu Dhabi in 1975 and spent four years in Mazyad, near Jebel Hafeet, breeding horses for Sheikh Zayed before enrolling at Sandhurst, the British military academy. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, now Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, was there at the same time.
Mr Cochrane-Dyet then spent five years as an army officer, which included stints with the Nepalese Gurkhas in Brunei, Hong Kong and Nepal, before the lure of Abu Dhabi proved too strong. In 1985, he came back to the capital as a representative of an investment bank and, four years later, joined British Petroleum. He is now a special adviser to the company.
Mr Cochrane-Dyet said another encouraging aspect of development in Abu Dhabi was that fewer expatriates now leave during the summer months and they tend to stay for longer periods overall.
He said the opening of shopping malls in the capital over the past decade had been key to this because it had made living in the city “a lot more comfortable”.
“In the 1970s and 1980s, people would come for three years, save as much as they could and leave,” he said.
“In the summer, people went home with empty suitcases and would fill them up with cornflakes or toothpaste. Now you don’t need to go home in the summer to buy knickers.
“I’ve also noticed in the last 10 years that people stay longer. That’s nice because people tend to put something back into local society because they understand it.”
Given his obvious affection for the country, it is little wonder that a third generation of the Cochrane-Dyet family is now working in Abu Dhabi.
The elder of Mr Cochrane-Dyet’s two daughters, Charlotte, 24, is employed in the capital in the security industry.
“People say you get the sand between your toes,” he said of the country’s continuing appeal.
“I was fortunate to work for Sheikh Zayed. He was a magnetic personality. I was fortunate enough to be in a place like Mazyad. I was among the local people. It was one happy family.”
Yet despite all the changes, Mr Cochrane-Dyet said the tradition of Arabian hospitality had not been lost.
“The place is renowned for that [hospitality] and that to me has been consistent, thank God,” he said.
“We need to keep hold of that.”
[email protected]
Someone who has known Abu Dhabi for more than 40 years might be forgiven for losing the capacity to be impressed by the changes here.
If you had seen the capital grow from a sleepy desert town to an ambitious, burgeoning world city perhaps the latest new developments would leave you cold.
But not a bit of it in the case of Nick Cochrane-Dyet.
The Briton, aged 52, said he was bowled over by the Yas Marina Circuit when he attended the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last month.
“Yas Island was just unbelievable, what they did with the Formula One in the period given, with 600 million people watching [on television] when they were showing off Abu Dhabi,” he said. “I was very proud to be part of that.”
Impressed though Mr Cochrane-Dyet was with the Grand Prix and other recent projects, he said the past 10 years had seen other developments more significant than the emirate’s construction boom.
Changes in the way the emirate is governed, its education standards, its commitment to preserving its history, its cultural openness and its recent efforts to diversify economically rank at the top of what Mr Cochrane-Dyet described as a “pretty amazing” decade for Abu Dhabi and the UAE.
“The more I think about it, the more I realise [how much] has happened in the past 10 years,” he said.
“Lots has happened in the 40 years I’ve known Abu Dhabi, but if you think about it, the more recent stuff, it’s just as remarkable as some of the earlier stuff.
“The fact you can go and watch the opera, or go and watch Elton John play; whether you’re old or young, there’s entertainment on a scale we’ve never seen before.
“We’ve got our own airline that in the decade since it was launched has become airline of the year,” he added, referring to Etihad Airways recently being named the World’s Leading Airline at the World Travel Awards. We have got amazing exhibitions. There’s the World Future Energy Summit that has attracted some amazing first-class speakers and heads of state. People want to come here.
“We’ve got [the Government-owned development company] Mubadala and the way they are looking at diversifying away from the oil industry for the long-term future of the country.”
He also cited greater openness in the press and the elections for the board of directors at Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry as other examples of how society had developed.
“It’s that concept of moving to where people have a voice and people can vote. It’s another demonstration of progress,” he said.
“Sheikh Zayed was a visionary. He talked about the future. Today, the regime can put it on a computer. You can read all about the 2030 plan.”
It is all a far cry from the Abu Dhabi that Mr Cochrane-Dyet remembers as a child.
From 1965 to 1969, his father was an officer in the Trucial Oman Scouts, the forerunner to the UAE Armed Forces, and lived in Al Ain’s Jahili Fort. Mr Cochrane-Dyet would visit his father there during holidays from school in England. “There was no schooling here then,” he said.
“What’s changed in the last 40 years … what’s been achieved is just remarkable. You could never have dreamt it.”
Mr Cochrane-Dyet moved to Abu Dhabi in 1975 and spent four years in Mazyad, near Jebel Hafeet, breeding horses for Sheikh Zayed before enrolling at Sandhurst, the British military academy. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, now Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, was there at the same time.
Mr Cochrane-Dyet then spent five years as an army officer, which included stints with the Nepalese Gurkhas in Brunei, Hong Kong and Nepal, before the lure of Abu Dhabi proved too strong. In 1985, he came back to the capital as a representative of an investment bank and, four years later, joined British Petroleum. He is now a special adviser to the company.
Mr Cochrane-Dyet said another encouraging aspect of development in Abu Dhabi was that fewer expatriates now leave during the summer months and they tend to stay for longer periods overall.
He said the opening of shopping malls in the capital over the past decade had been key to this because it had made living in the city “a lot more comfortable”.
“In the 1970s and 1980s, people would come for three years, save as much as they could and leave,” he said.
“In the summer, people went home with empty suitcases and would fill them up with cornflakes or toothpaste. Now you don’t need to go home in the summer to buy knickers.
“I’ve also noticed in the last 10 years that people stay longer. That’s nice because people tend to put something back into local society because they understand it.”
Given his obvious affection for the country, it is little wonder that a third generation of the Cochrane-Dyet family is now working in Abu Dhabi.
The elder of Mr Cochrane-Dyet’s two daughters, Charlotte, 24, is employed in the capital in the security industry.
“People say you get the sand between your toes,” he said of the country’s continuing appeal.
“I was fortunate to work for Sheikh Zayed. He was a magnetic personality. I was fortunate enough to be in a place like Mazyad. I was among the local people. It was one happy family.”
Yet despite all the changes, Mr Cochrane-Dyet said the tradition of Arabian hospitality had not been lost.
“The place is renowned for that [hospitality] and that to me has been consistent, thank God,” he said.
“We need to keep hold of that.”
[email protected]
Source: The National
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