A ceremony held on Tuesday evening at the Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum, attended by Moroccan officials from the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication, as well as distinguished figures from the fields of arts, culture and diplomacy, focused on the aesthetics of Islamic culture by honoring the life of the Prophet Sidna Mohammed through the concept of light (Al-Noor).

Morocco's designation as the guest of honor provided a chance to showcase the flourishing of Islamic arts in the Kingdom, where Andalusian, Arab and Amazigh influences intertwine to form a distinctive heritage. 

The event featured the presentation of the Al Burda Awards across various categories, namely poetry, Arabic calligraphy and ormanentation.

School of Arts of Tetouan received an honorary award in recognition of its exemplary role in preserving authentic Islamic arts, embodying the cultural heritage shared between Morocco and Andalusia, while Moroccan poet Yassine Hazkar won the Classical Poetry Award.

Emirati Minister of Culture, Sheikh Salem bin Khalid Al Qassimi, hailed Morocco's extraordinary contributions to Islamic arts and culture and noted that it aspires, through its rich ancestral heritage, to be a model of creativity and a source of inspiration for future generations.

For his part, Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid stressed in an address read out on his behalf by Morocco's Ambassador to the UAE, Ahmed Tazi, that the choice of Morocco as guest of honor testifies to the mutual esteem between the two brotherly peoples and the strength of cooperation uniting the two countries.

Today, this momentum is strengthened, in its human, cultural and development dimensions, by His Majesty King Mohammed VI and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyane, he underlined.