Media Center

On 4 May 2020, H.E Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammad Al Khalifa, President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities, and Her Excellency Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development in the United Arab Emirates, held a remote meeting, during which they addressed a number of issues related to the health repercussions caused by the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) around the world and its impact on the cultural sectors locally, regionally and globally.

During this online remote meeting, H.E Shaikha Mai lauded the effective precautionary measures taken by the UAE to contain the spread of COVID-19, praising the creative inventive treatment and possible vaccination solutions masterminded by the UAE, giving glimpses of hope to the whole world. Her Excellency Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, for her part, praised all measures taken by the Kingdom of Bahrain to limit and stop the spread of this pandemic locally and the effective professionalism in handling this corona virus crisis effects and devastating consequences. 

The meeting also reviewed both Bahraini and Emirati experiences and the two nations’ efforts to combat the novel virus’s repercussions to alleviate the sufferings it caused on culture sector in both countries, the measures taken by both official culture institutions, through a number of national cultural initiatives. These are not simply limited to presenting culture as knowledge-based material and literature for watching and reading, but rather offering an interactive rich content via social media networks updated and enriched by the general public contributing through pictures, arts, writings, poetry etc.

Both parties reaffirmed their determination to foster the long-standing partnership ties between UAE and Bahrain in various fields, such as expertise exchange, given that Bahrain shall offer its know-how and expertise with regard cultural heritage preservation and safeguard and action plan to develop antiquities and artifacts ‘law. The UAE, in counterpart, shall transfer its creative expertise in implementing the national survey to better decipher and understand the challenges facing the creative economy solutions and the obstacles faced by culture specialists and experts in all its aspects.

At the end of the meeting, both parties reviewed the cultural initiatives and practices that should be included in future strategic plans to enhance the central and crucial role and presence of culture amid current international crises and this world pandemic.