SPECIAL Olympics International President Timothy Shriver ended a visit to the Middle East and North Africa. Shriver's visit began in Cairo where he met Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, honorary president of Special Olympics Egypt. Shriver was accompanied by Regional Managing Director Ayman Abdel-Wahab. During the visit, Shriver briefed Mrs Mubarak on the latest development in the SO movement, now 40 years old. Shriver thanked Mrs Mubarak for her continuous support of the Egyptian programme and her role in the region especially her effort in creating the MENA Regional Games and hosting the first Games in Egypt in 1999. Thanks to Mrs Mubarak, the Games have been held bi-annually ever since. Shriver also visited the headquarters of the MENA regional office and met with the staff of the head office. He listened to each section head as they briefed him on reports on the activities of the departments. Shriver pointed out the importance of the coming period and how serious everybody involved in the movement should be working in future towards greater development. The SOI president's second stop was in the United Arab Emirates, followed by Saudi Arabia where he received $1 million in financial aid to the region's programmes, which was donated by Saudi King Abdullah. In Abu Dhabi, Shriver met Sheikh Hamed Ben Zayed Al-Nahian, crown prince of Abu Dhabi, who presented the UAE $700,000 in financial aid to support the region's programmes according to directives of the head of the state Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahian. Shriver and Abdel-Wahab were accompanied by SO Emirates President Mohamed Fadel Al-Hamli and officials of the Emirates programme. In Saudi Arabia, Shriver and Abdel-Wahab were received by Prince Sultan Bin Fahd, president of the youth sector and honourary president of the Saudi Arabia programme. They also received a $1 million cheque. Abdel-Wahab thanked both the king of Saudi Arabia and the president of the UAE for their generous support to develop the region's programmes "which will definitely have a positive impact on the level of performance of the region's athletes"
