Louvre comes to Abu Dhabi as UAE and France seal pact

Abu Dhabi: Months of speculation has ended with the signing of a historic cultural accord between the UAE and France to set up the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum.

The one-billion euro museum covering an area of 24,000 sq metres is expected to open its doors in 2012, as part of Saadiyat Island's Cultural District project.

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 Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

Following the signing of the agreement, President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan said the UAE is striving to achieve a cultural renaissance through revival and promotion of the country's cultural heritage.

"We are embarking on massive cultural projects that are not only aimed at preserving our country's heritage and history but also meant to bridge the gap between world cultures," he said in remarks during a meeting yesterday with de Vabres.

The bilateral pact provides for long-term loans from the Louvre and other French museums such as the Musee du Quai Branly, Centre Georges Pompidou, Musee d'Orsay, Versailles, Guiment and Rodin.

De Vabres insisted that the accord was not a 'market'. "It is a magnificent project, in that it is humanistic and it is a call for intercultural dialogue," he said.

"But we are not selling our art. Some art works will never leave France to go anywhere, but still, some important pieces will." The French Louvre, established in 1793, is the world's most visited museum.