Arab businessman's backing opens doors of top overseas universities to Iraqi students

The move signals Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber's commitment to contributing towards building a long-term future for the war-torn country. Through his MBI Foundation, the Sheikh, a noted philanthropist and educationalist, has contributed substantial sums in efforts of reform in the Middle East, most notably in improving the standard of education.

Under the agreement MBI will fund 60 postgraduate scholarships for Iraqi students from next year. The students will complete their education in some of the most prestigious universities in the United Kingdom.

Earlier in the week Sheikh Mohammed Bin Issa Al Jaber was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Westminster in recognition of his efforts to promote education, reform and development in the Middle East and his success as an international businessman with interests across three continents. This comes on top of similar awards from SOAS and City University.

Mr. Al Buka'a welcomed the Sheikh's commitment to education and the funding of scholarships. He said: "Sheikh Mohamed has shone a beacon of hope into the Iraqi education system and the lives of the country's young generation. Iraqi education has suffered for far too long. Now we have here one of the first signs that real change is on the way.

"By sending 60 of our best students to be educated in Europe, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber is helping to add to Iraq's knowledge capital and making a huge contribution to cultural dialogue and mutual understanding." He added.

The signing ceremony was held at the British Council in London. Later, dinner was hosted by Al Jaber in honour of the Iraqi Minister and attended by the heads of the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, City, Westminster, LSE and the American University in Cairo as well as the Iraqi Ambassador in the United Kingdom. Following the ceremony Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber said: "Our commitment to supporting the reconstruction efforts in Iraq will never relent until we see an Iraq that is strong and able to support all its people as well as the people in the region. These 60 scholarships are only part of our contribution to the Iraqi people."

Presenting the Doctorate on behalf of the University of Westminster, Vice-Chancellor Dr Geoffrey Copland, said: "Sheikh Mohamed is passionate about the need for educational reform in the Arab world and in order to support this, he has entered into series of agreements with UNESCO. He recognises that educational reform will not happen overnight but optimist that he is, he will continue to push for it and is now seeing signs of success."

Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber is directly involved in many charitable and educational activities. His desire to provide practical assistance to his community led him to fund scholarship programmes for deserving students from the Middle East at Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, University of London, American University of Beirut, the American University of Cairo, INSEAD near Paris and at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

As the Founding Sponsor of the London Middle East Institute, he has also generously donated to funding a new building at the Jeddah-based Dar El Hikmah College, an English-language, private sector, women's liberal arts college. He has entered into a series of agreements with UNESCO in support of educational reform in the Arab World including Arabisation of the Internet and what is called 'Kitab-Fi-Jarida' - Book In a Newspaper - which is now playing a vital role in the spreading of knowledge across the Arab World