VOICE OF CHANGE
Through the evolution of the UAE, Zaki Nusseibeh has held numerous posts, acting as the voice of change in many instrumental institutions. From the inaugural Director of the UAE Federal Ministry of Information to Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and now serving as Cultural Advisor to President His Highness Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Nusseibeh in the early years accompanied Sheikh Zayed to meetings with leaders such as Queen Elizabeth II; Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa; Valéry Giscard d’estaing, former French president; Indira Gandhi, former prime minister of India, and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, former prime minister of Pakistan, to name a few, as Zayed worked on forging friendships and bonds with foreign leaders.
Nusseibeh remarked, “Sheikh Zayed learnt from every country that he visited. He brought home the very best ideas to adapt and serve national development.”
There have been ministry departments established to continue the direction of Sheikh Zayed. Nusseibeh said that the Office of Public and Cultural Diplomacy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which he contributed in establishing, “enables an active foreign policy focused on weaving the bonds of friendship through cultural exchange. It is based on the idea that culture and art have a unifying force.”
Nusseibeh said of Sheikh Zayed “He regarded museums, galleries, and exhibition centres as important institutions – as landmark architectural features of the urban environment, and centres of cultural exchange, dialogue, and preservation.”
These thoughts resonate to this day with Nusseibeh and have invariably acted as a guiding philosophy as he has been instrumental in the UAE’S burgeoning arts and culture scene and the strengthening of the country’s foreign relations.
“The UAE cultural environment is integral to the sustainable development of the nation. Initiatives that strengthen our creative industries, art, music, books and performance venues, and the training and promotion of artistic talents — these are all woven into our economic and social development strategies,” Nusseibeh said. “The Louvre Abu Dhabi is a key element in our cultural strategy to focus global interest on the cultural environment of the region.”
He expressed pride in his role in Abu Dhabi’s achievement of bringing the museum to Abu Dhabi, “creating the first universal museum in the Middle East.”