The CNN presenter Richard Quest was mediating at the Government Summit in Dubai on Monday, and in a break from proceedings, found time to talk to The Nationa about life as a news presenter. When asked which prominent public figures he has not yet had the opportunity to engage with in an in-depth interview, he mentioned Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
In a twist of fate, a few minutes later, whilst Richard was still being questioned by us, Sheikh Mohammed himself entered the room. The Dubai leader instantly recognised the well-known anchor, and they chatted for a few minutes under the gaze of a swarm of photographers, fans and security guards. Richard asked His Highness if he’d heard about selfies, then showed him an example on his phone before taking a picture of them together. Sheikh Mohammed told Richard how he believed technology is developing quickly and how, a few years back, nobody would have imagined what we would have in our hands. They also talked about the progress of the summit since the inaugural year.
As Sheikh Mohammed left the room, Quest got onto his phone and tweeted "#selfie of the year with @HHSkhMohd in Dubai driving next stage with plans for World Expo 2020."
Quest then continued his interview with The National (read all about it in this coming Sunda’s Business pages).
He admits that when he was covering the Royal Wedding between Kate and Wills for CNN, he took a wonderful picture of the happy pair up close which he then accidentally deleted from his phone before he had the chance to share it. This time, he had learnt his lesson and pressed all the right buttons.
business@thenational.ae
