UAE-France Relations Celebrated On Bastille Day

As France celebrated Bastille Day on 14th July, the UAE joined it as the guest of honour at its Diplomatic Garden Party, a much sought-after diplomatic event gathering ambassadors and top diplomats accredited to France, representatives from international and regional organisations and prominent businesspersons.

PARIS, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 16th Jul, 2018) As France celebrated Bastille Day on 14th July, the UAE joined it as the guest of honour at its Diplomatic Garden Party, a much sought-after diplomatic event gathering ambassadors and top diplomats accredited to France, representatives from international and regional organisations and prominent businesspersons.

Held at the Pavilion Royal in Paris, the event brought together over 1,200 guests from the diplomatic community in France.

As guest of honour, the UAE showcased its rich culture and heritage, from a traditional dance show to traditional cuisine and delicacies, to an impressive performance that included cultural presentations throughout France’s national day.

On this occasion, Shamma bint Suhail Faris Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth Affairs, conveyed the greetings of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to the French Government, as well as their wishes of further progress and prosperity for France and its people.

"We celebrate with France this historic day of its liberty and unification. Tomorrow - we celebrate with France as it vies for the World Cup! Let me first express my warmest congratulations to you on behalf of the UAE Government - you have had an impressive run over the last four weeks - AND over the last 229 years! We wish you prosperity in the days and years to come in this era - and on the field", said Al Mazrui during her keynote address on the auspicious event.

"On this special occasion, I would like to reaffirm the UAE Government’s commitment to work with the French Government to strengthen the ties that unite our two nations. With our two countries so closely linked by economic, security and cultural interests, it only makes sense that we should be investing hand-in-hand in a partnership that enables us to achieve more together than what we could accomplish apart," she added.

Bilateral relations between the two countries have witnessed a major leap over the past several years, particularly cultural ties most recently reflected in the partnership that led to the opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, which has become one of the world’s focal and eminent cultural landmarks and has strategic importance for both the United Arab Emirates and France.

"I want to note a very special development in our partnership that occurred last November in the opening of the world-renowned Louvre Abu Dhabi. This extraordinary museum is about looking at what it means to be human. It invites us to explore the universal story of humankind again for the first time - through a new lens - that which makes us more alike than different across cultures, space and time. Through trendsetting art from the faiths and traditions of East, West and Midwest, the Louvre Abu Dhabi invites us to see our shared humanity in a new light. I am so glad that France and the UAE share these values", she observed.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi museum was inaugurated on 8th November 2017. It is the first universal museum in the Arab world and the largest cultural project promoted by France abroad.

With a collection covering all civilizations and periods, from Neolithic to modern times, it is a symbol of openness to the world and tolerance, where East meets West on the Silk Road.

The year 2018 is a special year for the UAE, as the young nation marks the centennial birth of the Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

"The UAE is born from the foresight, heart and wisdom of our great leader and visionary who placed human, social and economic development at the heart of his concerns and instilled education as the UAE’s concrete foundation," Al Mazrui continued.

To commemorate this historic national occasion, President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed dubbed 2018 in the UAE as the Year of Zayed. This yearlong commemoration will feature a series of events and initiatives in the UAE and internationally, designed to commemorate the memory of the inspirational world leader the late Sheikh Zayed was, highlight his legacy, and promote the values he lived by and carried forward.

By virtue of his words, actions, foresight and judgment, Sheikh Zayed was widely recognised as a wise and visionary leader and an inspirational man. He imagined a better future for his people, and had the wisdom and determination to draw an ambitious vision and turn it into a reality, against all odds, securing the UAE’s social development, economic strength and national security well into the future.

"Our projects and potentials know no boundaries. It is in this spirit that we seek to make Expo 2020 Dubai a meaningful, globally significant World Expo worthy of its claim as the world’s largest exposition to-date. More than 170 countries have announced their participation. The theme we have chosen: "connecting minds, creating the future" reflects the matrix of minds, ambitions, and ideas we hold space to harness and to build together a more connected, open and thriving world for all," said Al Mazrui.

"Our environmental and sustainability concerns are as innate and unwavering. They have stirred us to sizable action. Masdar is the living example, our precursory project. With zero percent greenhouse gas emissions, Masdar will be the first Clean City in the world. Masdar embodies more than just an avant-garde and symbolic new city; it represents a new life philosophy, a new cognitive and behavioural system and beacon into the future of sustainability".

Bilateral relations between the UAE and France go well beyond the cultural, touching on the military, political, educational, archaeological, audio-visual, legal, energy and medical sectors, among many others, and most importantly trade and business. The UAE is the second trade partner of France in the Gulf, after Saudi Arabia, with bilateral trade valued at nearly US$5 billion in 2016. The UAE is also the second largest investor in France. With 11 percent of the FDI stock, France is the second investor in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the third investor in the Emirate of Dubai.

The UAE is the second investor country from the Gulf in France, representing 35 percent of the investment stock from the region and home to more than 600 subsidiaries of French companies, with over 75 percent of the CAC 40’s firms.