DED ties up with Al Maktoum Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies in Scotland

Notes and media contacts

For further information, please contact:
Sudha Chandran, Mahmoud Abdulla
ASDA'A Public Relations
Exclusive Affiliate of Edelman PR Worldwide in Middle East and North Africa
P O Box 28063, Dubai, UAE
Tel: (971 4) 3344550
Fax: (971 4) 3344556

About Department of Economic Development (DED):

The Department of Economic Development (DED) was established in March 1992, with the objective to organise, regulate and boost trade and industry within the Emirate of Dubai. The DED has moulded its mission of building a futuristic establishment, in accordance with the vision of the Government of Dubai and in the light of globalisation and the requirements of a digital economy. One of its key functions is to encourage local and foreign investments in commercial and industrial projects, and create the appropriate environment for investors.

The DED's other functions comprise a wide range of regulatory activities including the preparation and maintenance of a commercial register and the supervision of all organisations. The DED is responsible for regulating the affairs of commercial agents and brokers and commercial advertising offices, in addition to overseeing and controlling the insurance industry in the Emirate. Examining the participation of the government in the private sector and representing the government in companies where it has a stake, also comes under the purview of the DED.

About Al Maktoum Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies

The Institute was born after years of work undertaken by the Islamic Research Academy (ISRA). In 1999, a delegation from ISRA chaired by Lord Watson of Inver Gowrie (MSP) visited Dubai at the invitation of H.H. Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and the Minister of Finance and Industry of the United Arab Emirates. At the meeting, His Highness Shaikh Hamdan generously offered to fund several postgraduate scholarships in Islamic Jerusalem Studies each year, to be administered by ISRA.

In 1999, the Management Committee of ISRA began the process of establishing a Centre for Islamic Jerusalem Studies. On 27 August 2000, ISRA decided to widen the scope of the project and to establish an Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies. H.H. Shaikh Hamdan has once again demonstrated his extraordinary generosity in recognising the work and achievements of ISRA by offering to fully sponsor the establishment of the Institute in Scotland. This understanding was made official by the signing of a Joint Agreement between ISRA and Al-Maktoum Foundation of Dubai, with regard to the establishment of Al-Maktoum Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies during the Fourth ISRA's International Academic Conference on 24 October 2000 at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.

In recognition of the support and generosity of His Highness Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum who has been, and still is, a strong and devoted champion of this new and exciting academic endeavour, it was decided to name the Institute "Al-Maktoum Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies."