HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE has sent a heartfelt message to an Emirati student who has graduated from university.

The Ruler of Dubai, who first met student Fatima Ahmad Bin Bakhit Al Nuaimi four years ago, posted the sweet message on Twitter.

“I had laid a kiss on my daughter’s head in 2016 as she ranked first at the state level in the reading challenge,” His Highness said. “Yesterday, my daughter Fatima Al Nuaimi graduated from Abu Dhabi New York University with distinction.

“Congratulations. The country flourishes with you, thrives in reading and rises with knowledge.”

Along with the message, Sheikh Mohammed shared two photos – one of their first meeting in 2016 and one of Al Nuaimi’s recent remote graduation.

Back in 2016, Al Nuaimi completed Sheikh Mohammed’s Arab Reading Challenge, along with 160,000 other pupils across over 800 schools.

The student became the first pupil to receive a certificate from His Highness upon completing the reading challenge four years ago.

The programme was initially launched in 2015,as part of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives foundation, with the aim of one million students reading 50 million books in one year.

However, that surpassed by more than three times the initial goal – more than 3.5 million students reading 150 million in one year.

The initiative has gone on to flourish, with many of its participants, Al Nuaimi being one example, flourishing too.

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Images: Sheikh Mohammed Twitter