Khalifa grants Unesco chief Independence Order

Al Ain: President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan bestowed the Independence Order, First Degree, on Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of Unesco.

The honour recognises Matsuura's efforts in serving the organisation as he has come to the end of his tenure. Shaikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's court, presented Matsuura with the honour on Friday evening at his palace in Al Ain

Earlier in Abu Dhabi Matsuura said, during the fourth session of the InterGovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, the honour was highly symbolic of the strong cooperation between Unesco and the UAE in the field of culture. Matsuura said this during the closing ceremony in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

"Not only are the country's authorities powerfully committed to safeguarding diverse forms of heritage, they have made tremendous efforts in the domain of living cultural expressions," he added.

The Unesco Director General reiterated his profound appreciation and gratitude to the authorities of the UAE for the wonderful and generous hospitality and "above all for their steadfast support for Unesco and our common cause of safeguarding the invaluable intangible heritage of humanity."

Present at the closing ceremony were Shaikh Sultan Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage; Abdul Rahman Al Owais, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development.

The UAE has offered $2million to Unesco and African countries to safeguard the heritage projects.