UAE to give Dh155m to renowned Cairo university

The Cairo institution is one of the oldest in the world.

ABU DHABI // The UAE will give Dh155 million to a university in Cairo that is one of the oldest in the world.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the Foreign Minister, tweeted yesterday that the Ministry of Presidential Affairs had signed an agreement to fund development projects at Al Azhar University.

The university was founded in 970 and is regarded as the global hub of Islamic learning.

Many Emiratis on Twitter showed their support for the decision, quoting Hadiths of the Prophet Mohammed requesting people to be kind to the people of Egypt.

"The Prophet said 'Do good to its people - meaning Egypt - as they have consciousness and compassion', and you are the best to to do this," tweeted Ahmed Alhosani, referring to the UAE.

The announcement followed Sheikh Abdullah's statement that the UAE was keen to boost political, economic and investment relations with Egypt under its new leadership.

"The bilateral relations between UAE and Egypt thrive on solid ground, and there is a genuine desire to develop them for the benefit of the two countries and their peoples," he said in a statement published on Wam, the state news agency, this week.