Culture cannot be converted into a commodity: French Minister

The Cultural District on Saadiyat Island is aimed at promoting culture and knowledge regionally and boosting openness to other cultures, said Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority.At a joint press conference today with French Minister of Culture and Communication Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi upon signing the historic cultural accord between France and the UAE to build a Louvre satellite museum on the island which lies off the coast of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Sultan said Louvre Abu Dhabi will hold negotiations ton displaying works of art from Paris Louvre based on strict standards of the famed Louvre. De Vabres said "the Louvre Abu Dhabi is an invitation to tolerance and respect for cultural diversity ...and the project is a "reconciliation among all forms of religious, cultural and political diversity." The agreement signed today by France and UAE provides for the construction of the planned 260,000-square-foot Louvre Abu Dhabi museum that will open in 2012. Designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel, the Louvre Abu Dhabi will be a white discus-shaped building with irregular-shaped windows in the roof. "It is not possible to convert culture into a commodity", De Vabres said. Source