The Director-General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Ms K. Nandini Singla, concluded a three-day visit to the United Arab Emirates, highlighted by her co-chairing of the second Joint Steering Committee Meeting of the India-UAE Cultural Council alongside  Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the UAE.

 

 

The meeting, held in Abu Dhabi yesterday, built upon the foundation established during the first Joint Steering Committee Meeting in New Delhi in March this year, when Minister Al Kaabi visited India.

 

 

The Cultural Council Forum was established through a Memorandum of Understanding signed by both nations with the objective of strengthening the deep-rooted cultural and people-to-people bonds between India and the UAE.

 

 

During discussions, both sides explored several initiatives to enhance collaboration across multiple domains, including youth engagement, sports, yoga, arts, education, tourism, and archival cooperation. The co-chairs emphasised the importance of advancing cultural ties as part of the broader strategic partnership between the two countries.

 

 

Ms Singla expressed gratitude to the UAE leadership for their care and warmth toward the Indian community in the Emirates, which numbers over 4.3 million people and serves as the biggest cultural bridge between the two nations.

 

 

During her visit, Ms Singla held separate meetings to explore additional avenues of cooperation. Yesterday, she met with Mr Fabio Piano, Vice-Chancellor of New York University Abu Dhabi, and Mr Bill Bragin, Executive Director of the NYUAD Arts Centre, to discuss potential collaboration between the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the university in academic and cultural domains.

 

 

The ICCR Director-General also visited the Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum and met with the museum’s Director, Mr Manuel Rabate. Their discussions focused on ways to enhance India-UAE ties in museums, visual arts, and capacity building in museology.