"Culture" Signed 4 cooperation agreements to support craftsmen and creators within “Made in the Emirates”
ABU DHABI, 5 May / WAM / His Excellency Sheikh Salem bin Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of Culture, witnessed the signing of four new cooperation agreements between the Ministry and the Sheikha Fatima Bint Mohammed Bin Zayed Initiative, the Ghars Center for Social Empowerment, the Mandoos Trading Company, and Al Khazna Leather Factory.
The agreements – which were signed on the sidelines of the Ministry’s participation in “Make in the UAE 2026” – aim to empower Emirati craftsmen and creators, enhance the national cultural heritage, and develop cultural and creative industries.
The agreements were signed by His Excellency Mubarak Al-Nakhi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture, with His Excellency Maiwand Jabbar Khail, CEO of the Sheikha Fatima bint Mohammed bin Zayed Initiative, His Excellency Yousef Al-Marsoudi, General Director of the Ghars Center for Social Empowerment, His Excellency Khalaf Al-Otaiba, Executive Director of Al-Mandoos Trading Company, and His Excellency Shamsa Muayd Al-Ahbabi, CEO of Al-Khazna Leather Factory.
Al-Nakhi stressed that the signing of the agreements comes within the Ministry’s efforts aimed at strengthening national identity and consolidating the position of the cultural sector at the local and global levels as a productive and active sector in the national economy by preserving the national cultural heritage and promoting cultural and creative industries. He pointed out that the Ministry’s participation in “Made in the Emirates” embodies the integration of efforts aimed at enhancing local content and supporting the national product.
He said: These agreements represent a new step in the framework of our continuous endeavor to support Emirati craftsmen and creators by providing the appropriate environment to highlight their creativity, market their products, and build a sustainable economy based on creativity and cultural heritage.
His Excellency added: Handicrafts constitute a vibrant national memory, translate the features of our identity into every creative product, and enhance communication between future generations. Based on our belief that craftsmen and creators represent an essential pillar in the national identity system, we affirm that supporting and empowering them is a shared responsibility for which all parties join hands.
The first agreement signed with the Sheikha Fatima bint Mohammed bin Zayed Initiative aims to support and empower the crafts and traditional industries sector, nurture craftsmen and creators and develop their creative abilities, organize art exhibitions to showcase their creativity, and provide and implement specialized training workshops for them at a rate of one every three months, while involving the ministry’s nominated craftsmen in development and training programs and art exhibitions.
In the same context, the second agreement with the Ghars Center for Social Empowerment focuses on supporting and empowering the national crafts and heritage industries sector by providing free space at the Masafi Cultural Center, implementing training workshops in traditional crafts, and involving craftsmen nominated by the Ministry in development and training programs and art exhibitions.
As for the third agreement with Al Mandoos Trading Company, it seeks to promote and preserve national heritage through leather crafts, cultural initiatives, developing applied designs, supporting creative and industrial capabilities, facilitating participation in cultural platforms and exhibitions, developing training programs to enhance craft skills and technical competencies, in addition to enabling the integration of traditional crafts with modern innovation, design practices, and industrial applications. The fourth agreement with Al Khazna Leather Factory aims to enhance cooperation in the field of leather crafts by developing products inspired by Emirati heritage, implementing workshops and live performances of traditional crafts, contributing to the preparation of specialized training programs to develop the artistic and technical skills of craftsmen, and enabling the integration of traditional crafts with innovation and modern design in a way that enhances the sustainability of this vital sector.
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