His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, stressed that the UAE, under the leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, provides great support for culture, literature, science and knowledge, placing them among its priorities, while encouraging authors and cultured people from Arab countries and all over the world.
This was said during His Highness’s reception at the Al Bahr Palace of the winners of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, most notably the Moroccan historian and intellectual, Dr. Abdallah Laroui, the 11th Cultural Personality of the Year 2016-2017, as well as the winners of the Prince of Poets competition, the judging panel, publishers, organisers of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair and the Chinese delegation as the fair’s guest of honour, while accompanied by Faris Khalaf Al Mazrouei, Chairman of the Committee for Festivals and Cultural and Heritage Programmes (CFCHP); Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, and Dr. Ali bin Tamim, Secretary-General of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award.
His Highness stressed that culture and intellect were, and will continue to be, the primary standard for measuring the advancement of nations and their civilisation, and the extent of their ability to develop and advance.