Armenia – UAE relations a raw model for international cooperation

Azad-Hye, United Arab Emirates
Sept 24 2005

AZAD-HYE (Dubai, 24 September 2005): The Armenian – UAE relations
witnessed a great stride forward owing to the successful 3 days
official visit of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al
Qasimi, Member of the UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of the Emirates
of Sharjah to Armenia, during which he inaugurated the Sharjah
Cultural Week (Yerevan, 19-22 September 2005) in the National Art
Gallery of Armenia.

Activities of the cultural week included an exhibition of modern arts
(paintings of 22 UAE artists courtesy of the Sharjah Museum of Arab
Modern Art); exhibition of antiquities excavated in the area
surrounding Sharjah; exhibition of heritage items displaying way of
life in the desert environment (handcraft items, costumes,
traditional medicine), exhibition of award winning samples of Arab
calligraphy. During the opening ceremony a Sharjah folkloric group of
10 performers greeted the guests and the public. The second day of
the exhibition included theatrical performance by the group of
Sharjah National Theatre.

The program of the UAE cultural and official delegations was very
extensive. Besides the official meetings with the head of the State,
the Prime Minister and several Ministers, the delegates visited many
remarkable places, including the Armenian Natural History Museum, the
National Museum, University of Yerevan, National Academy of Sciences,
Saryan Museum, Yerevan Museum, Children’s Art Museum. Members of the
cultural delegation were invited to a morning program on the Armenian
public TV. It is worth mentioning that the Cultural Week is part of a
bilateral protocol that has been signed during the visit of Armenia’s
Minister of Culture and Youth to Sharjah last December.

Before the arrival of Sheikh Dr. Sultan Al Qasimi, the Armenian
Minister of Culture Hovik Hoveyan had the chance to meet with the
General Director of the Sharjah Department of Culture and Information
Abdullah Mohammed Al Oueis, who had arrived Yerevan few days earlier,
in order to arrange for the opening ceremony.

Heading the UAE cultural delegation Al Oueis visited the Marz
(Province) of Armavir, some 50 kilometers away from the capital
Yerevan, where the Mayor welcomed the delegation and expressed
gratitude to the Arab people who supported the Armenians during the
difficult period of 1915-1923 (Armenian Genocide) and he said: “The
Armenian – Arab relations have a history going back thousands of
years. There are many common elements in our cultures, in music,
arts, traditions etc. We have achieved in Armavir splendid relations
with the Arab World and we intend to build on our friendship and to
further develop these ties”. Mr. Al Oueis was given a painting
representing Mount Ararat, the symbolic mount of the Armenians.

In the evening of the same day Sheikh Dr. Al Qasimi inaugurated the
Sharjah Cultural Week in Armenia. The program is part of Sharjah’s
plan to establish cultural interaction with peoples of the World,
especially with countries that have long lasting relationship with
the Arab World. The aim of these activities is to reflect the image
of Sharjah as a cultural hub and a capital of the Arab culture.

During the opening ceremony of the Sharjah Cultural Week, Sheikh Dr.
Sultan Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah congratulated the Armenian people
for the Independence Day. He pronounced that it is highly symbolic
that the conduction of the UAE cultural days coincides with this dear
occasion. He expressed the wish that Armenia overcomes the existing
difficulties and takes the path towards full economic development. He
highly appreciated the initiative of the Armenian Government to
organize the Armenian Cultural Days in Sharjah (December 2004), which
resulted in achieving even closer relations between the two sides and
introduced Armenia to the general public in his country. He stressed
that the Sharjah authorities did not want to miss the opportunity of
arranging these cultural days in Yerevan, although parallel
exhibitions are taking place in Germany and Spain, which needed also
some attention. He promised to organize a larger exhibition in the
future and said that the coming months will witness more extensive
cooperation in cultural and other fields between Sharjah and Armenia.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by the Armenian Deputy Prime
Minister Hovik Abrahamian, Deputy Foreign Minister Kegam Gharibjanian
(former Ambassador of Armenia to Iran and Qatar), Minister of Culture
and Youth Affairs Hovik Hoveyan (who has attended the Armenian
Cultural Week in December 2004 in Sharjah) and a number of UAE
officials and press representatives.

The highlight of the day was the meeting of Sheikh Dr. Sultan Al
Qasimi with President Robert Kocharian. The President decorated the
precious guest with the “Saint Mesrob Mashtots” Order, one of the
highest orders in Armenia, in recognition of his contribution to the
UAE-Armenian relations, in addition to his role in the fields of
education and culture. They discussed ways of promoting bilateral
relations between the two countries.

During the second day of his visit to Armenia, on 20th September
2005, Sheikh Dr. Al Qasimi met with Armenian Prime Minister Andranik
Markarian, who stressed that Sheikh Sultan’s visit to Armenia is a
significant move towards strengthening the bilateral ties. The
meeting was attended by the Chief of the Sheikh’s Office (Isam bin
Saqr Al Qasimi), the Director of the Emiri Court (Rashid Ahmed Al
Sheikh), Director of Sharjah Islamic Endowment Authority / Awqaf
(Jamal Salim Al Taraifi) and UAE non-resident Ambassador to Armenia
(Khalifa Shaheen Al Merri).

In a separate meeting in the Armenian Academy of Sciences, the
President of the Academy Fadey Sarkissian praised Sheikh Dr. Al
Qasimi for his contribution to the development of science and culture
in the UAE and in the Arab World in general. It should be mentioned
that UNSESCO had chosen Sharjah as the Arab Cultural Capital for the
year 1998. Sheikh Dr. Al Qasimi was awarded honorary doctorate from
the National Academy of Sciences in Armenia in recognition of his
contributions to the cultural and intellectual activities across the
world. This honorary title has been conferred so far to a limited
number of 60 personalities worldwide. Ambassador of Armenia in the
UAE Dr. Arshak Poladian praised the Sheikh for his efforts to turn
Sharjah into a center of cultural and scientific advancement in the
Arab World. Sheikh Dr. Al Qasimi, who is also the Chancellor of the
American University of Sharjah and the Sharjah University, thanked
the Academy and stressed that Sharjah will continue to attract
institutions of higher education and Universities of worldwide fame.

On the same day Yerevan State University awarded its Golden Medal to
Sheikh Dr. Al Qasimi. Speaking at the awarding ceremony University’s
Rector Radik Martirosyan said that Sheikh Al Qasimi is a great friend
of the University. Sheikh Dr. Al Qasimi granted a seat for Arab
studies in the Faculty of Oriental Studies. He expressed his
happiness that the Department of the Arab Studies within this Faculty
has more than 300 students. (Click Read More)

On the same day he visited the Genocide Monument and planted a tree
of UAE-Arab friendship. He visited the Museum and witnessed the
sorrow and grief that war has cause to the Armenians. He placed
flowers on the monument of the victims and ended his visit to the
museum wishing that love and peace would prevail in the world.

Sheikh Dr. Sultan Al Qasimi found time to visit also lake Sevan, one
of the highest lakes in the world, from where Hrazdan river is
originated, a main source of irrigation in Armenia. The Mayor of
Tavoush Marz (Province) welcomed the guest and soon after the
official lunch they headed to Dilijan, one of the finest resorts in
Armenia, where some of the houses date to centuries back. He also
visited the Municipality of Dilijan.

Back in Yerevan His Highness attended in the equestrian club of Hovig
Hairapetian a live show of the four horses that he presented as a
gift to the Government of Armenia. He expressed satisfaction that the
horses are in safe hands and under the care of people who adore
horses.

The third day was full of local cultural activities. Sheikh Al Qasimi
did not miss the chance to visit the famous Matenadaran (the
depository of ancient Armenian manuscript). He was impressed by the
huge number of manuscripts in the Matenadaran (total number 17.000
manuscripts, 700 of them in Arabic). The Director of Matenadaran Sen
Arevshatian presented him a book on horse breeding.

During his visit to Matendaran Dr. Sheikh Sultan Al Qasimi declared
that a UAE delegation will visit Armenia next week. He stressed that,
issues of deepening bilateral cooperation in economy, science and
culture will be discussed during this upcoming visit of the
delegation.

On Tuesday evening 21st September 2005 Sheikh Al Qasimi returned home
at the end of his official visit to Armenia