DUBAI, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched on Saturday an initiative to help frame and stimulate regional and global debate on vital development issues in the Middle East, UAE state news agency WAM reported.

"The Arab world is in need of positive ideas to take on the developmental and daily life challenges with the contributions from the international intellectuals," UAE Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum said.

Those ideas could represent positive beginning to overcome a lot of challenges or inspire decision-makers to think differently in some developmental issues, Sheikh Mohammed, who is also prime minister and ruler of Dubai, said.

The initiative will focus on the issues related to human resources development, innovation, public health, education, tolerance, sustainability, poverty, employment, entrepreneurship, food, water and others.

It will assign a group of international experts, including Nobel laureates and heads of state, academicians and intellectuals to write several articles on such issues.

Launched by Microsoft co-founder and multi-billionaire Bill Gates in 2000, the Gates Foundation is the largest private foundation in the world.