By Manel Mselmi, Paris

The visit of the influencial prince of UAE to France last wednesday comes as a part of an official summit in Paris. The two partners aim to deepen their bilateral cooperation in order to fight against terrorism and extremism and focus on education and culture as the main pillars to have a generation of peace and coexistence. The crown prince of Abu Dhabi is not only a leader in diplomacy and foreign policy in his country but also an activist against Islamist movements in the region. His interest in culture and education as well as bilateral relations manifests itself through the importance he gives to the Louvre Museum and to the French and European culture and history. He believes that the shared interest in culture is able To develop “peace and cultural communication”. An interest which is also shared by the French government who inaugurated the Abu Dhabi Louvre Museum earlier this year and showed openness to the Arab language and culture especially after the minister of education Jean Michel Blanquer’s proposal to introduce the Arab language into the French educational program. Mohamed Bin Zayed believes that University and knowledge exchange between the two nations is crucial. His visit to the Emirate students in French universities is a reminder that “education is the way to the future” and that sharing the French expertise in terms of education and research is extremely important.Finally, the prince’s meeting with the prime minister Édouard Philippe and some leading entrepreneurs to discuss economic  investment and future partnerships is a step towards deepening the friendship and the collaboration between the two nations as well as between the European continent which is again an evidence that we are moving towards the EurAsia era in terms of economy, business, education such as the EurAsia Erasmus but also in terms of security and the fight against extremism.

3017