DUBAI------December 13, 2012------Under the Patronage of His Highness Sheikh Nahyan Mabarak Al-Nahyan, UAE's Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the 2nd International Platform on Integrating Arab e-infrastructure in a Global Environment e-AGE 2012 officially opened at Zayed University in Dubai, in coordination with the Emirates Advance Network for Research and Education (ANKABUT) and the National Research Foundation in the UAE.
Under the theme “Collaborate towards developing the regional e-Infrastructures," the Integrating Arab e-Infrastructure in a Global Environment which is being held for the second year attracted large number of participants, among them, ICT experts, policy and decision makers, heads of stakeholder institutions and international organizations, experts of e-infrastructures of the Euro-Mediterranean, Pan-Arab, Africa, Asia, and North American regions, academia and active researchers, together with high-level representatives from the League of Arab States, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the European Commission (EC) Directorate General Information Society and Media (DG INFSO). 
His Highness Sheikh Nahyan Mabarak Al-Nahyan welcomed HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, chairman of the Arab States Research and Education Network saying:" The name of your organization – the Arab States Research and Education Network – suggests creativity, innovation, forward thinking, receptiveness to change, and, to me, especially, regional development and global connections. It is a great pleasure to welcome all of you to the United Arab Emirates and to Dubai for this E-AGE 2012 Conference."
He added:" Today, by holding this conference, you aim to advance substantially the research and education capacity of the Arab region. Your network has the potential to expand the boundaries of teaching, learning, and research. You can dramatically increase the ability of students, researchers, and institutions to learn together and to collaborate. You can help place our region in the forefront of technological development. And, of course, you can help our colleges and universities keep pace with global technological innovations and enhance their collaboration with leading universities and research centers around the world."
The Minister stressed saying:" The nature of your work and your presence at this conference are cause for great optimism. Education, research, and innovation fuel economic growth. Those three areas of endeavor are closely linked. Colleges and universities attract talented students and should provide them with the opportunities to pursue big ideas. Faculty and researchers should be encouraged to think “outside the box. You are seizing the opportunity today, and I hope that you will continue to cooperate both regionally and internationally. I believe strongly that our success in building knowledge economies in our countries will depend on the promotion of effective education; on strong partnership between educational and research institutions and business and industry; on the ability to turn research results into applications that drive economic progress; and on an environment that allows for keeping pace with the latest developments in science and technology around the world.” 
Meanwhile, HE Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh stated in his keynote speech: "I want to capture this historic moment of meeting here in UAE and under the patronage of my great friend His Highness Sheikh Nahyan Mabarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and much more, to announce that I will be asking ASREN Management jointly with ANKABUT Management in collaboration with DANTE which is responsi
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