Saadiyat Cultural District to feature academic institute: UAE FM

The Cultural District to be built on Saadiyat Island off the coast of Abu Dhabi will include an prestigious academic institute, said today UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Nahyan.In a statement to WAM, Sheikh Abdullah said the agreement signed by the UAE and France for the Cultural District has a training aspect in addition to the cultural aspect.The planned Fine Arts Academy will give training to painters and artists, he said adding a great opportunity will be available to artistic talents from the UAE and the region to exhibit their works to tourists and visitors expected at the Saadiyat Island upon completion of the giant cultural projects currently under construction.Sheikh Abdullah said the Saadiyat Island will serve as a cultural transfer hub not only for the French culture but also for all cultures of the world."Tourism plays a significant role. However, understanding has be boosted among peoples of this region and of other parts of the world", he noted.He said the Louvre Abu Dhabi satellite museum which is expected to open in 2012 is a further boost to the strong relations between UAE and France and will be a destination that helps bridge global cultures. "The strategic relations between the two countries are continuously fruitful." The two countries recently signed an agreement to establish a fully-fledged campus of Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi, one of the most glaring examples of excellent bilateral cooperation.The governments of Abu Dhabi and the Republic of France have signed today an unprecedented cultural accord which will see the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum created within the Cultural District of Saadiyat Island - lying just 500 meters off the coast of Abu Dhabi City. Source