The Dubai government is set to grant $8 million to Syria’s Public Authority for Radio and Television. Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI), the Dubai government’s media organization, will use the grant to build a news center for state broadcaster Syrian Television and train 20 of its staff members. The news center is slated for completion in time to allow Syrian TV to cover the Arab Summit, which Damascus will host in March. The new facility will “reflect the modern face of Arab broadcasting,” says a recent press release. The news center will cost about $4 million to build, and includes a state-of-the-art studio with advanced technology. The remaining $4 million will be used to make technology upgrades and buy equipment, as well as to train Syrian TV journalists at DMI.

The grant was the outcome of a meeting between DMI executives and senior members of the Syrian government, who met in Damascus to discuss collaboration in TV production between the two countries. A DMI press release said future collaboration plans include setting up a sports channel for Syrian TV. The project will “mark a qualitative transformation in the quality of newscasts broadcast on Syrian TV,” DMI Managing Director Ahmad Al Sheikh told a press conference.