Dubai: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, inaugurated the two-day Arab Media Forum on Tuesday, held under the theme ‘The future of media starts today’.
The 13th annual gathering of roughly 2,000 media personalities from the Arab world and the international arena, witnessed a keynote address by Egyptian Prime Minister Ebrahim Mahlab who was received earlier by Shaikh Mohammad.
Shaikh Mohammad said in a statement, “Since the era of the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and the late Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, we owe Egypt and its people all honour, respect, and appreciation.”
He said that Egyptians were one of the first regional talents to come to the country, especially in the sectors of education and media.
Mahlab expressed his pleasure at visiting the UAE that has, “through the tireless labours of its sons and daughters and the visionary policies of its leaders, evolved to become a true crossroads of culture and civilisation, a tourist haven, and a centre of commerce and trade in the world today.”
Mahlab described the Arab Media Forum as “one of the most important gatherings in the world for journalists, politicians, and intellectuals to reflect on the intricacies of the present and contemplate what awaits on the horizon.”
In opening remarks during his keynote speech Al Mahlab said we were living in a new world with new media and even new people, where there is an overflow of information that can make decision-making challenging.
He also said the media had played a role in enlightening people and conveying messages of hope when Egypt had to sacrifice a lot to get its spirit back.
“The future is not built on economic power on its own… Egypt had to make many sacrifices to get back its spirit and today we are witnessing a counter-revolution from the alliance of terrorism and failure.”
He said the Egyptian people started the second evolution in June 30, 2013 to confirm its identity as moderately religious. He also said no one can break its spirit or impose backward and extremist values.
‘No going back’
“We will continue on this path. There is no going back now.”
In light of the current Egyptian elections, Al Mahlab said: “What we have are two presidential candidates. What is happening today is a result of the people’s will and it should not be doubted or questioned. The candidates are from the people and will be chosen by the people.”
As for the security situation in Sinai, Al Mahlab said they were working on ridding Sinai of terrorism.
“I can assure you that soon, Sinai will be clear and clean from these pockets of terrorism. We are taking effective steps to do so. There are still some pockets here and there but they will soon be gone.”
Another step in Egypt’s future is coming up with new economic reforms, Al Mahlab said. “We thank the GCC countries for their funding during the transition period but at the end of the day we are looking to reform our economy. We believe in win-win situations and we hope to attract investment to Egypt from the GCC.”
He said Egypt was looking into reforms that will focus on the sector’s most stricken by poverty.
Al Mahlab also spoke about the Syrian crisis, emphasising that Arab countries should play a bigger role in helping Syrians on a humanitarian level.
“There is no doubt that us Arabs should play a bigger role in helping Syria. What is happening is a humanitarian issue and Arab countries should see how they can help. It is Egypt’s duty to help them on a humanitarian level. Syrians in Egypt are treated as Egyptians in terms of education and health.”
Before Mahlab’s keynote speech, Mona Al Merri, Director-General of the Government of Dubai Media Office (GDMO), welcomed Shaikh Mohammad, Mahlab and guests and delegates. She thanked Shaikh Mohammad for his support and encouragement for the forum.
“Today, we are proud that the AMF has won the trust of the Arab media community to become a fixed, annual gathering where media persons interact to discuss truth and the reality of their profession, aspects of its progress and aspirations,” she said.
