SHARJAH: His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, received yesterday morning at his office Rahul Gandhi, President of Indian National Congress. Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and Sheikh Abdullah Bin Salem Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, were present at the meeting.
The meeting touched upon the historical relations between the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of India, the promotion of bilateral relations between the two countries, as well as ways of bolstering cultural, social and cultural communication between the two friendly peoples.
Gandhi praised the scientific, educational and cultural renaissance in the Emirate of Sharjah and the support of Dr Sheikh Sultan for various humanitarian and educational projects, which, he said, are reflected in the Emirate’s great scientific and cultural development.
Dr Sheikh Sultan presented his guest with a number of his literary and cultural publications.
The meeting was also attended by a number of Sheikhs and Indian officials.
Sheikh Sultan on Sunday evening attended launch of the 17th edition of the Sharjah Arabic Poetry Festival organised by the Sharjah Department of Culture. \The six-day-festival has kicked-off at the Sharjah Culture Palace with the participation of 42 poets from several Arab countries.
The opening ceremony was also attended by Sheikh Salem Bin Abdul Rahman Al Qasimi, Head of the Ruler’s Office, Mohamed Al A’raj, the Morocco’s Minister of Culture and Communication, Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al Owais, Chairman of Department of Culture, and Maj Gen Saif Al Zarri, Commander-in-Chief of Sharjah Police, along with a number of senior government officials, poets and authors.
The audience attended a documentary film highlighting the Sharjah Ruler’s efforts to support the poets in the UAE and the Arab world, as well as outcome of poetry festivals held in the cities and villages of the Arab world with the support and follow-up of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah.
During the ceremony, His Highness honoured the festival’s personalities with the Sharjah Award for Arabic Poetry. The honorees were poet Saif Al Marri from the UAE and poet Mohamed Mohamed Al-Shahawi from Egypt. They were awarded for their active role in supporting the Arabic poetry, their poetic creativity on the literary and intellectual scene, and their poetic and distinguished production.
Furthermore, Sheikh Sultan received documentary publications about the production of the Arab poetry houses throughout the past year. Those publications were printed under sponsorship of the Department of Culture in Sharjah
