Abu Dhabi: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, called for alliance of civilisations to face the enemies of humanity and ensure the convergence of minds and cultural exchange.
Shaikh Mohammad made this remarks during the inauguration of Louvre Abu Dhabi, which was inaugurated on Wednesday by him, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Emmanuel Macron, President of France.
The inauguration was attended by King Mohammad VI of Morocco, Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa, Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, President of Afghanistan, and a number of representatives from brotherly and friendly countries.
In his opening speech, Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid called for an alliance between civilisations, and described Louvre Abu Dhabi as a monument representing the beauty of the east and the west.
“Louvre Abu Dhabi will be a meeting point for lovers of art, culture and beauty all around the world. With the opening of this museum, Abu Dhabi has become the capital of art, architecture and mankind’s heritage,” said Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid.
Shaikh Mohammad said that the museum is a bridge linking the east and the west, and is a unique monument that Abu Dhabi has added to humankind’s heritage.
“Through such cultural projects, we fight the darkness with light, and ignorance and intellectual extremism with with artistic beauty that was innovated by great human minds thousands of years ago,” said Shaikh Mohammad.
“The UAE did not find a better ally than France in collaborating with us in building this cultural monument, where the values of cultural openness are embodied. The message we convey through Louvre Abu Dhabi stems from our strength in communicating with peoples and minds,” he added.
“The Louvre Abu Dhabi is a symbol for intellectual, humane gathering, tolerance and human interaction. Its message is that our strength, as humans, lies in our intercommunication and cultural exchange. Our strength also comes from the meeting of the minds, interaction between peoples and alliance between civilisations,” said Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid.
“Today, we gather under the dome of Louvre Abu Dhabi—the dome of light, in a region where those with dark ideologies are trying to bring our civilisation back to the ages of ignorance and backwardness. The project represents a part of the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan’s legacy, that he passed on to Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed—a legacy in loving humanity and creating closeness and communication between peoples and civilisations,” added Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid.
“On behalf of myself, the people of the UAE, advocates of peace, we thank my brother, Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed, who was behind this project to drive the world culturally forward. And I would like to thank the French Government, represent by its President, Emmanuel Macron, for supporting this project,” he said.
