British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the UAE Vice President and Prime Minister, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, met in London in mid-October for wide-ranging talks on regional and international issues and on the further development of ties between the UK and the UAE.

The officialEmiratesNewsAgency,WAM,reportedthat“thetwoleadersreviewed the friendly and cooperative relationship between the two countries and ways of developing them in all fieldstowardsatruepartnershipbasedupon the mutual interest and bilateral trade and investment.”

One focus of the discussions was ways in which the two countries could work together to promote the provision of primary education for underprivileged children in developing countries.

A joint statement issued after the talks noted that “the two sides consider that the provision to children, wherever they are, of the skills they require to achieve success when they become adults is the most cost-effective way in which the international community can invest in and encourage the security, stability and prosperity in the world to which all aspire.”

Acknowledging both the British Government’s commitment of at least 8.5 billion pounds to promote education in the developing world and the ‘Dubai Cares’ campaign launched by the UAE Vice President and Prime Minister to provide primary education for a million children in needy countries, the statement added:

“The United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom will work together, for the firsttimeaspartners,ininternational efforts to provide opportunities and encouragement for the provision of education for all children in the poorest countries, especially girls, so as to enable them to join schools.”

“The two sides pledge that they will work to identify the best means to deliver and support primary education in these countries and also to encourage other players in the international community to increase their efforts to provide sound primary education for all deprived children.”

The talks were attended by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister, Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of Economy, Mohammed Abdullah Al Gargawi, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, Easa Saleh Al Qurg, UAE Ambassador to Britain, and Edward Oakden, British Ambassador to the UAE.