Lisbon: His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, affirmed that the human civilisation is a wide and multispectral fabric whose patterns interact with each other.
He added that Sharjah believes in the importance of cultural communication and extending bridges of knowledge among peoples to promote understanding and tolerance among all cultures, and to emphasise the unity of humanity no matter how different races and ethnicities are.
The Sharjah Ruler was speaking on Thursday during the inauguration of the Sharjah Cultural Days in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. The event was attended by Rui Machete, Portuguese Foreign Minister, Ambassador Luisa Bastos de Almeida, Adviser to the President of the Republic of Portugal for Political Affairs, and Jorge Barreto, Secretary of State of Culture.
Dr Shaikh Sultan expressed his thanks for the hospitality in Lisbon, citing the historic Arab-Portuguese relations. He added that the Arab and Latin civilisations had been parallel and sometimes intersected. However, they contributed much to the contemporary sciences and arts.
He underlined the importance of cultural communication among communities worldwide, noting that the exhibitions and theatres feature values and encourage cultural dialogue among peoples around the world.
Dr Shaikh Sultan presented copies of his translated books to the Portuguese Foreign Minister.
Ambassador de Almeida conveyed the regards of the President of Portugal to the Ruler of Sharjah, thanking him on organising the Sharjah Cultural Days in Lisbon.
The event was also attended by Saqr Nasser Al Raisi, UAE Ambassador to Portugal; Abdullah Bin Mohammad Al Owais, Head of the Department of Culture and Information; Dr Amr Abdul Hamid, Adviser to the Ruler of Sharjah for Higher Education; and other senior officials.
Dr Shaikh Sultan and his delegation then toured the art, heritage, and historical exhibition which reflects the cultural scene in the UAE in general and Sharjah, the Arab cultural capital for 1998 and the Islamic Cultural capital for 2014, in particular.
Dr Shaikh Sultan started the tour by viewing the section of the exhibition related to the Sharjah Ruler’s rare historical maps collectables which document the history of the Arab Gulf region.
