Brussels
A delegation from the Government of Dubai Media Office (GDMO) on Thursday met with Chief Spokesperson of the European Commission Margaritis Schinas in Brussels. The meeting discussed potential initiatives to share knowledge, ideas and mutual experiences in strategic communications between GDMO and the European Commission (EC).
Led by Director General of GDMO Mona Al Merri, the delegation is visiting Belgium as part of an official tour of Europe aimed at strengthening knowledge exchange with policymakers, key civil society stakeholders and thought leaders.
During their visit to Belgium, the delegation met with government leaders, officials of multilateral organisations; and heads of think tanks, media companies and women’s organisations.
Al Merri said: “Our European tour is aimed at building a dialogue with institutions and thought leaders in the European Union. The tour contributes to the larger effort of building closer ties between Dubai and Europe based on mutual respect and appreciation of each other’s values. The visit enabled us to listen to the experiences of leaders from various sectors in Europe, and also relate to them the insights we in Dubai have gained from our development.”
The visit, she said is also part of GDMO’s efforts to showcase Dubai’s vision and its successful growth journey to global audiences. The tour was an opportunity to convey Dubai’s experiences in areas like media industry growth, inclusive development, diversity and tolerance.
“We also explored how European thought leaders and organisations can potentially contribute to the conversations on media diplomacy and government communications at the high-profile forums we organise. In addition, we discussed potential partnerships to expand our training platform for Dubai’s communication leaders,” Al Merri added.
The GDMO delegation also met on Thursday with Director General of the Egmont Institute Ambassador Johan Verbeke. The meeting formed part of GDMO’s efforts to build relationships with knowledge-based organisations in Europe. Egmont is an independent think tank focused on interdisciplinary research on international relations.
The Belgium visit concluded with meetings with senior executives of VTM, the main commercial television station in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking north of Belgium. The delegation exchanged ideas and insights on the future of the media industry with Editor-in-Chief of VTM news Kris Hoflack and news editor of VTM Patrick Van Gompel. The delegation was led on a tour of VTM’s offices.
The GDMO Director General expressed her gratitude to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of UAE in Belgium and the Emirates Diplomatic Academy (EDA) for the support they extended to GDMO for the successful organisation of the trip.
Al Merri said that GDMO’s partnership with the Emirates Diplomatic Academy (EDA) played a key role in the success of its Europe tour. GDMO partners with EDA to deliver exclusive training programmes for members of the Dubai Media Diplomacy and Communication Network. In October 2018, GDMO organised the Strategic Communication Programme developed in partnership with the EDA. The fast track Programme was designed to provide communication leaders advanced strategic skills for positioning Dubai as a leading global city.
