Dubai: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, yesterday (Tuesday) received the chairman and members of Columbia University’s board of directors at the executive office in Dubai.
Shaikh Mohammad welcomed the university’s board who chose Dubai to hold its annual meeting, highlighting the importance of the university, which dates back to 1754, and its prestigious position among other important universities in the world for the prominent role it plays in the development of research and studies.
Shaikh Mohammad, accompanied by Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, stressed that the UAE pays special attention to education and respects scientists as they are the cadres of the human development for they have knowledge through which countries are developed.
He pointed out that the UAE granted enormous scholarships to most prestigious universities in the world, it also created an attractive environment and encouraged other universities and educational institutions to established branches in the UAE through which the UAE become a knowledge hub for the entire world.
Shaikh Mohammad was invited to deliver a lecture in the university headquarters in New York in order to brief the university’s students and staff on his vision and innovative ideas and to establish cooperation between countries for a better future.
Shaikh Mohammad was briefed on the educational programmes the university offers and its achievements since it was the place from which many American leaders and economists graduated as well as Nobel laureates,
The chairman of the board of directors praised the UAE’s march toward innovation, excellence and development which made it a role model regionally and globally.
The board members commended the UAE leadership’s keenness to create an enabling environment for innovation and provide a stimulating educational atmosphere that will create a qualified generation able to build on the development. Dubai is not only a financial and trade hub but also sets an example of tolerance and openness, the members said.
