Second UAE-France Forum kicks off at UAEU

AL AIN- Zaki Nusseibeh, Cultural Advisor to President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Chancellor of the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), affirmed that the long-term and unique relationship between the UAE and the French Republic, occurs at a time when the UAE’s positive strategic relations with its regional neighbours and the wider international community are more important than ever before.

In his speech during the 2nd UAE-France Forum, organised virtually by UAEU, in the presence of Xavier Chatel, France’s Ambassador to the UAE; Professor Dr. Eric Canal Forgues Alter, Dean of Academic Affairs at Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy (AGDA); Dr. Maxime Jaffre, Department of Government and Security; Professor Dr. Silvia Serrano, Director of Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi; Maral Jule Bedoyan, Education and Learning Resources Manager; Faten Naeem Rochdy, Resources Centre Unit Head, and Valery Freland, Executive Director of ALIPH (International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas).

The forum has also witnessed the participation of Dr. Ali Ahmed Alghafli, Vice Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at UAEU, and Hassan Al Naboodah, Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at UAEU, along with many academic staff members, faculty, researchers, and university students.

"Universities serve to foster intellectual and cultural growth. They do this by bringing together the finest minds and students to interact and thereby to produce knowledge, invention, and creative work. In doing so they both demonstrate and uphold the value to society of institutions that can combine diversity and difference in a harmonious community. They are sites and places where one issue or artefact can be examined from a multiplicity of perspectives," he said.

He stated, "It is only recently that I joined the UAEU as its Chancellor. My appointment has touched me deeply given the purpose, value, function, and reach of universities I have just outlined. I have devoted my personal and professional life to the service of promoting international political, economic, and societal cooperation by advancing the understanding of the UAE’s culture and values.

I have invested my energies in bringing to the UAE the widest range of educational and cultural institutions, events, and activities from across the globe." "I have committed myself to these endeavours because of my firm belief that it is by being with each other in our diversity that we can learn and grow from each other and find the common binds that lead us to invest in each other’s welfare and security.

It is therefore with this personal enthusiasm that I greet you this morning because your forum aligns with the objectives I have always held to be important and valuable," he said concluding his speech.

Xavier Chatel, France’s Ambassador to the UAE, emphasised the depth of the historical ties between the UAE and France, in addition to the shared cultural vision which contributes to promoting the cultural, social, and academic relations between the two nations through higher education and scientific research in the UAEU.