Mohammed bin Rashid Attends Main Session Of Arab Media Forum 2018

Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum attended the Main Dialogue Session of the 17th edition of the Arab Media Forum held in Dubai today.

The Main Session was also attended by Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum; Deputy Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum; Chairman of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum; His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum; Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the Future His Excellency Mohammad Abdulla Al Gergawi; and Minister of State and Chairman of the National Media Council His Excellency Dr. Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber. Director General of the Government of Dubai Media Office Her Excellency Mona Ghanem Al Marri delivered the welcome address.

The Main Session of AMF featured a ‘dialogue’ with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain His Excellency Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed Al Khalifa. In a conversation with Muntaha Al Ramahy, Anchor of Al Arabiya News Channel, His Excellency addressed various issues including the state of the media in the Arab world and recent developments in the GCC political landscape.

In response to a question on whether Dubai is a model that others could copy, His Excellency said, “This beautiful city is a global hub. Earlier, we had three global cities, London, Paris and New York. Now with Dubai, we have added the fourth one.”

“Bahrain and the UAE were like one country in the time of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The UAE is a source of pride for all of us. Its achievements did not happen overnight and have come as a result of hard work,” said His Excellency

The Bahraini Foreign Minister sought to correct the perception that there was a “problem” with the media in the region. “The region is going through a phase of transformation and the media is dealing with this with a great deal of responsibility. We should not feel that there is a problem with the media. There are some exceptions like instances of fake news and biased news, but I see media largely committed to society and ethics. The professional side is always developing.”

“Compare media today to the media of 15 years ago. Media are taking up different issues. There are crises around us but the media is dealing with it,” he pointed out. “Yes of course, there is fake news but it is not sustainable. We will be able to face this by exerting more efforts to counter it.”