Abu Dhabi: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, held a meeting yesterday to discuss education strategies in the country.

The meeting aimed at identifying means to unify mechanisms to implement the federal government's strategies on education through the Ministry of Education, local educational councils, concerned authorities and UAE educationists.

The meeting was attended by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister; Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Presidential Affairs; Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, and Dr Hanif Hassan, Minister of Education.

Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid and Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed emphasised the importance of education as a key component of the strategy for sustainable development and the best way to build a modern and coherent community.

They also called for pooling efforts for a better future for education which is perceived as a strategic means to achieve national interests. Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid said 23 per cent of the federal government's budget is set aside for education.

"The education share in the federal budget illustrates the vision and directives of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the great importance he attaches to education and the viable investment in this sector," he added.

On his part, Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed stressed the unification of education being the focal point of human resources development and foundation of integrated viable modern country. "We are looking forward to education as an inseparable part of our existence and of our Arab values."