Abu Dhabi: The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall were received by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, at Al Ain’s historic Al Jahili Fort, on the second day of their visit in the country to inaugurate the UAE/UK 2017 Year of Creative Collaboration, on Monday.
Shaikh Mohammad and the British royal couple walked around the picturesque fort and viewed a gallery of photographs, highlighting the long history between the two countries, before attending the inauguration ceremony.
The ceremony, which was attended by a number of dignitaries and around 1,000 guests, opened with a speech by Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development.
Shaikh Nahyan spoke about the long ties and the common goals between the UK and the UAE and said they have always prospered from a successful relationship. He also welcomed their joint efforts in creating the cultural programme for 2017.
The 2017 will see the British Council collaborate with a wide range of British and Emirati partners to create a diverse programme that spans the arts, literature, education, society, sport, science and trade across the Emirates.
The unique cultural programmes are intended to strengthen the existing relationship between the two countries and create new ones between the people, institutions and businesses.
The ceremony concluded with a performance by two members of the BBC symphony orchestra who were accompanied by talented students from a variety of nationalities from Dubai’s Centre for Musical Arts.
Some highlights from the 2017 programme include the UAE and UK Short Film Festival, the BBC Proms Dubai with BBC Symphony Orchestra and Craft Makers at Design Days Dubai.
Prince Charles and Camilla are scheduled to travel to Dubai on Tuesday for the last day of their visit where they are expected to visit the EXPO 2020 Headquarters, Al Jalila Hospital and Dubai Foundation for Women and Children.
Charles and Camilla are on a week-long tour of the region which started in Oman on Saturday and plan to visit Manama, Bahrain after their visit to the UAE.
