Cultural ministers of the UAE and Spain discuss to increase cooperation between the two nations

Abu Dhabi: In a venture to increase bilateral cooperation in the cultural and creative sector between the UAE and Spain ministers from both the countries met virtually on Thursday.  Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, UAE Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi and Jose Uribes, Spanish Minister of Culture and Sport discussed various possibilities and procedures to be adopted in their remote meeting.

Al Kaabi discussed a digital policy guideline proposal and the UAE’s significant interest in intellectual property, to protect creative talents and artists who do not present their work in the digital sphere.

Uribes praised this idea and highlighted the importance of intellectual property protection.

“This is a great idea especially when there is currently, a substantial amount of available cultural content online. Also, the Spanish government is combating this type of piracy through a series of relevant initiatives,” he added.

Al Kaabi also briefed Uribes about the precautionary procedures adopted by the UAE and the experience of its cultural sector in maintaining the sustainability of innovation.

“The Emirates have been maintaining the stability of innovation through digitizing cultural content and the launch of a national programme to support talents. This programme helped us to provide 87 financial grants to various individuals and companies,” she added.

The bilateral cultural ties between the two nations have witnessed ongoing development and Sharjah was a guest of honor in the Liber International Book Fair in Madrid 2019.

Spain will also participate in the Expo Dubai that will be held next year, under the slogan, ‘People and Places’. This is expected to introduce the public to Arab and Islamic influence in Spain.

Finally, Uribes presented the procedures implemented by Spain to mitigate the implications of the health crisis on the cultural sector. He noted that it had created many opportunities and challenges that were not previously clear.

“Utmost importance should be given to promoting culture, not only as part of the economic sector but also as a fundamental component of quality of life,” he concluded.