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Prince Sultan honoured

DUBAI - Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector-General of Saudi Arabia, yesterday donated 10 million Saudi Riyals to Dubai's Rashid Paediatric Therapy Centre (RPTC).

Prince Sultan made the announcement at a ceremony held at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel to honour him with the Shaikh Rashid Award for Humanitarian Personality for 2002, after he had officially inaugurated the new premises of the RPTC, in the presence of General Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Minister of Defence; Shaikh Ahmed bin Saaed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Department, Chairman of Emirates and Chairman of the RPTC Board of Directors; Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Director-General of the Saudi Arabian Higher Authority for Tourism, and a large number of distinguished guests including Egyptian actor Adel Imam, who attended the ceremony in his capacity as the UN Ambassador for Goodwill.

Prince Sultan toured the premises of the centreand its various sections and said he was impressed with its sophisticated equipment and the numerous state-of-the-art services provided for the treatment and rehabilitation of the children with special needs.

The Saudi Prince, who praised the administrative staff of the centre for their efforts, was thanked by the director of the centre, Mariam Othman, for the visit.

After the centre's inauguration, Prince Sultan attended the ceremony at which Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed presented him with a crystal miniature of the Shaikh Rashid Award for Humanitarian Personality of the Year 2002 , as a token of appreciation for the great deeds of the 'Benevolent Prince' whose contributions to humanity are numerous.

Prince Sultan thanked the President, His Highness Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and His Highness Shaikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and thanked Gen. Shaikh Mohammed, expressing his overwhelming happiness to be chosen the Humanitarian Personality of the Year 2002, thanking all those who nominated him for the award.

Prince Sultan believes that charity works are not confined to the beneficiaries of the humanitarian and charity projects alone "but such works have an ultimate noble cause and objective."

He said: "In the light of the current circumstances and the events taking place worldwide, we are in real need for supporting charity activities and projects."

In this context, he appreciated the initiative of the award's organisers and their attempts to shed light on the benevolent, adding that the award carried the name of a personality who bagged the love of people for his great contributions and philanthropic achievements, in reference to the late Shaikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

Speaking on behalf of Shaikh Ahmed, Mohammed Al Abbar, Director-General of Dubai Economic Development department, Vice-Chairman of RPTC's Board of Directors, said: "Dubai is honoured to host His Royal Highness Prince Sultan in an evening to recognise and honour an Arab Islamic personality who worked his entire life to serve humanity and Islam."

Mr Al Abbar said that bestowing the award on Prince Sultan came as a result for his remarkable accomplishments and his support for the projects that help humanity all around the world.

He pointed out that Prince Sultan was nominated by thousands of Arabs and Muslims who appreciated his charitable and humanitarian actions.

Adel Imam congratulated Prince Sultan and said that the award is a source of pride because it is connected to a unique personality who laid the cornerstone for the benevolent works and who founded Dubai, the late Shaikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

Mr Imam said that the award was an honour for Prince Sultan and the Saudi people.

He added:"Egypt and its people regard Dubai's experience in caring for the children in general as a civilised model to be followed and to be proud of."