His Excellency Yori Bondar, Minister of Culture of Belarus, has inaugurated the UAE Cultural days in Belarus, taking place in the Mikhail Savitsky Gallery over the course of 5 days in the capital of Belarus Minsk and Mogilev city. Minister of Culture of Belarus was accompanied by His Excellency Hakam Al Hashmi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development for Culture, Arts and Archeology, His Excellency Ahmed Mangoush, UAE Ambassador to Belarus, in addition to 12 Arab and Foreign Ambassadors to Belarus and a number of local intellectual and cultural leaders. The UAE Cultural Days is home to an Arabic calligraphy exhibition, fine arts exhibition, free-style drawing studio and a heritage village with traditional old houses and bedouin tents. Here visitors can experience traditional Emirati folk dances, handcrafts, food and clothes, reflecting various traditional Emirati environments. The ceremony started with a show by the National Band for Folk Arts, followed by an opening speech by His Excellency Minister of Culture of Belarus, word of The Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development by Waleed Al Zaabi, Director of the Heritage and Arts Department and Deputy Head of the UAE Delegation and word by the UAE Ambassador to Belarus. His Excellency Yori Bondar, Minister of Culture of Belarus, has reiterated his happiness for the event and welcomed the UAE delegation and ambassadors. He assured that the UAE-Belarus deeply rooted ties and dynamic relations in the fields of culture and knowledge witnessed a huge development over the past years. “This event coincides with the celebration of the diplomatic relations held between both countries 25 years ago.”, noted His Excellency. He added that art brings people together and enables communication through colors, paintings, music and literature. Yori Bondar further expressed his appreciation for the cultural diversity of the UAE art and heritage and invited the people of Belarus to visit the cultural days to enjoy Emirati folk arts and impressive Arabic Calligraphy and Islamic ornamentation. On the other hand, Ambassador Ahmed Mankoush confirmed that the UAE cultural days reflect the richness of the UAE culture and deliver a miniature scene of the UAE culture, heritage and civilization to the people of Belarus. He further praised the efforts exerted by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development to insure the success of the event . Waleed Al Zaabi, during his speech said that the UAE cultural week in Belarus tells the story of the UAE; its past and present, culture and heritage and innovation and creativity. He added that the musical orchestra to be performed tomorrow by both the Belarus orchestra and UAE artists; Fatima Al Hashemi, Mohamed Al Jahouri, Ibrahim Al Junaibi and Jassem Mohamed, reflects the artists’ capability of cooperation in various artistic and cultural projects. “Our main aim is to introduce our culture, heritage, civilization and history to the people of Belarus, which would support the cultural and intellectual relations between the UAE and the world. This would also promote the exchange of experiences and the introduction of UAE artistic, cultural and heritage creativity.”, added Al Zaabi