Morocco, UAE, Bahrain, Israel, agree to foster cultural cooperation ties

Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Israel have agreed to step up cooperation in the fields of culture and sport in line with the US-brokered Abraham Accords seeking to strengthen peace, coexistence and dialogue to advance the culture of peace among the three Abrahamic religions.

An agreement to this end has been inked on the sidelines of Expo Dubai 2020 by Moroccan minister of culture Mehdi Ben Said and his peers of UAE, Noura Al Kaabi, of Bahrain Ayman bin Tawfiq Al Moayyed and of Israel Healy Trooper.

The signatories pledge to develop partnerships, hold joint cultural & sport events, exchange experiences and enhance consultations. The United States also pledges to support cultural industry, related business opportunities and services between the three Arab countries and Israel.

Following the signing ceremony, the Moroccan minister held talks with Israeli, Emirati and Bahraini peers on bilateral relations and cooperation prospects.

In another development, the Moroccan Foundation of Museums (FNM) and the International Council of Museums (ICOM Israel) signed, last week in Rabat, a memorandum of understanding to strengthen professional and cultural ties between the two institutions and support the exchange of know-how in the field of museology and cultural heritage.

The MoU, signed by the FNM President and the Director of ICOM Israel, aims to share museum best practices in areas of common interest, including the implementation and use of information and communication technologies in archiving operations, exhibition exchange and art lending.

“This agreement aims to contribute to the development of training and promote the sharing of expertise and experience in the museum sector to then benefit our African brothers,” president of the FNM, Mehdi Qotbi, had said.

Qotbi said that ICOM Israel is willing to collaborate and share with the FNM the “fascinating” works and collections of great artists who have marked the world scene such as Picasso and Marc Chagall.

For her part, the director of ICOM Israel, Samira Raz welcomed her presence in Morocco, describing as “historic moment” the signing of this memorandum whose symbolism is that of a “wonderful bridge in the museum sector and exhibitions.”

The museum sector is huge and can build bridges between Israeli and Moroccan artists including through the exchange of exhibitions. Culture opens the way to a “real dialogue between countries,” she said, commending the existence of a museum in the Kingdom dedicated to the Jewish memory.