UAE | General
It is a unique milestone in international cooperation
President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has welcomed the signing of a historic cultural accord between the UAE and France to set up the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum.
- By Rania Habib and Mohammad Ezz Al Deen, Staff Reporters
- Published: 00:00 March 7, 2007
- The computer image shows a view of the Louvre museum to be built in Abu Dhabi.
- Image Credit: AP
Abu Dhabi: President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has welcomed the signing of a historic cultural accord between the UAE and France to set up the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum.
The 30-year agreement was signed by Shaikh Sultan Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority and Tourism Development and Investment Company and the French Minister for Culture and Communications Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, in the presence of General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
"The agreement is an important step towards achieving Abu Dhabi's vision in placing itself as a cultural hub in the region and a bridge of communication between different global cultures and civilisations," Shaikh Khalifa said.
The setting up of the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi will offer opportunities of learning and help increase cultural awareness, Shaikh Khalifa said.
"This initiative is a unique milestone in international cooperation and bilateral relations and a tribute to the long-standing and friendly ties our two nations have enjoyed. It also creates an enriching environment to be treasured and to educate generations to come," Shaikh Khalifa said.
Shaikh Mohammad praised the support given by both the UAE and French leaderships to establish the museum.
"In the long-term, the Louvre Abu Dhabi will become autonomous. It will be a national, regional and international asset allowing all to fully participate in an interconnected global cultural understanding," Shaikh Mohammad said.
The Louvre Abu Dhabi museum is expected to open its doors in 2012, as part of Saadiyat Island's Cultural District project. The agreement provides for long-term loans from the Louvre and other French museums.
In celebration of the collaboration, the Louvre will host a floor of commemorative galleries dedicated to Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
Additionally, a multi-purpose art research centre in France will carry the Abu Dhabi name. Abu Dhabi will also contribute to the restoration of the theatre in the Chateau de Fontainebleau, the largest royal palace in France. The theatre will later be named after Shaikh Khalifa.
Shaikh Sultan Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan told reporters the decision to create the Louvre Abu Dhabi will have ripple effects in the region.
"With the Saadiyat project, the target is to enlighten the people of the UAE; there is a clear-cut educational role to the Cultural District. The process will go further from here and cover the whole region."
With inputs from Khitam Al Amir
Share this article
Popular in UAE
-
Have your say
Living in untidy homes
Do you think that people who live in untidy homes have bad character?
Latest news
- Khalifa congratulates Karzai on re-election
- Khalifa receives congratulatory call from Talabani
- Complaints against cab drivers decline
- Camel in RAK gives birth to twins
- No hike in water, electricity rates
- Thalassaemia website 'will help educate youth'
- Saif is appointed Emiratisation chief
- Experts call for reviewing green cost of desalination
- Readers: Less water usage means less desalination
- Dubai Police open centre to combat marine pollution
- Pavement parking irks pedestrians
- Man jailed 3 years in fatal assault of colleague
- Murder: Mother gets stiffer sentence
- Traffic Prosecution adopts humanitarian step
- 'All-green' project to ease traffic flow
Community Reports
-
Pavement parking irks pedestrians
Gulf News reader calls on authorities to step in and stop car owners from invading pathways meant for safe walking
-
Faded parking lines pose a problem
Motorists could be fined for parking incorrectly even though they can hardly see the boundaries in the designated areas
-
School buses block residential parking
Commercial vehicles taking up free parking facilities in Al Wuheida, inconveniencing residents in surrounding villas
-
Community report: Doing their bit for poor children
A group of students takes concrete action to raise funds for Dubai Cares
