DUBAI, 3 October 2007 — Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, vice president, prime minister and ruler of Dubai, received at his palace here on Monday leaders of local Arab and foreign media organizations who offered their greetings on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahayan, foreign minister and chairman of the National Media Council, was present during the meeting.

Sheikh Mohammed engaged his guests in a lengthy dialogue on the educational and supervisory role of the media. The media leaders expressed their appreciation of Sheikh Mohammed’s support of the media, referring to his recent decision banning the imprisonment of journalists for reasons related to the discharge of their duties.

In this regard, Sheikh Mohammed explained that the new law sanctioned by the Council of Ministers protected journalists from imprisonment and replaced imprisonment for libel and slander with fines. He stressed that journalists remained professionally and ethically bound to pursue accuracy and authenticity.

Discussion also touched on Sheikh Mohammed’s Dubai Cares initiative, which aims at delivering primary education prerequisites for over one million children in poor countries around the world.

Sheikh Mohammed stressed that the motive behind the initiative was purely humanitarian. “It is our duty to reach out to the poor and destitute,” he said. “It is a religious duty.”

Dubai World yesterday made the single largest contribution worth AED260 million to the initiative launched earlier this month.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, chairman of Dubai World, announced the donation and said it was the corporate social responsibility of Dubai World to join such projects.

“We believe that as a responsible corporate house it is incumbent on Dubai World to do its best in support of this noble cause,” he said. “The initiative announced by Sheikh Mohammed is as vast in its scope as it is far-reaching. Education, as Sheikh Mohammed pointed out, is the all-important key to break the cycle of poverty. We are proud to be part of this project.”

The contribution from Dubai World includes donations of land in major real estate projects.