Home to the Louvre's only foreign branch in their capital Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates is
"helping"
with the investigation of antiquities trafficking involving the famous Parisian museum, its culture minister said in an interview with the AFP.
At the end of May, the Louvre Museum and the Louvre Abu Dhabi became a civil party in the investigation into the trafficking of looted antiquities in the Near and Middle East, in which the former president of the largest museum of the world, Trafficking in antiquities: Jean-Luc Martinez disputes his questioning, which disputes the facts.
Read alsoAntiquities trafficking: the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Louvre are a civil party
“We have a very transparent and constructive relationship with our French counterparts
,” Emirati Culture Minister Nouera Al-Kaabi told AFP on the sidelines of the visit to Paris this week by the president of the wealthy Gulf state. Mohammad bin Zayed.
"With regard to this regrettable case of trafficking, we are helping to advance the investigation, ensuring that it progresses frankly"
, assured the Emirati minister in a rare speech on the subject for a senior official of this country.
The Paris investigation seeks to establish whether, among hundreds of pieces looted during the popular Arab Spring uprisings that swept the region in 2011, any were acquired by Louvre Abu Dhabi.
The looting of antiquities in countries at war or plagued by political instability such as Syria, Iraq or Egypt has been massive since this period, specialists believe.
Read alsoAntiquities trafficking: Jean-Luc Martinez, former boss of the Louvre, specifies his line of defense
“Very serious question”
In France, a preliminary investigation, entrusted to the Central Office for the Fight against Trafficking in Cultural Property, was discreetly opened in July 2018, two years after the Louvre Abu Dhabi purchased five Egyptian pieces, including a rare stele in pink granite representing the pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Born of an intergovernmental agreement signed in 2007 between the United Arab Emirates and France, the Louvre Abu Dhabi is linked to the French establishment but depends on the local authorities of the capital of the Gulf country.
The establishment, designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, was inaugurated with great fanfare in 2017 by President Emmanuel Macron.
Charged with
"complicity in fraud in an organized gang and laundering by false facilitation of the origin of property from a crime or misdemeanour"
, Jean-Luc Martinez is accused by French justice of having turned a blind eye to false certificates of origin of Egyptian coins.
For the United Arab Emirates, which has invested billions in culture to develop its
"soft power"
, it is
"crucial that the provenance (of antiquities) be clear"
, underlined Noura Al-Kaabi, speaking of a
"one very serious question”
.
"Legality is something we take very seriously
," argued the minister, assuring that her country
"supported"
the investigation in France and would
"respect the outcome"
.
"Investment"
According to Noura Al-Kaabi, the current affair should not make us forget that the Louvre Abu Dhabi is a
"success story"
which has contributed to the
"development"
of relations between France and the United Arab Emirates, a country of 10 million people. inhabitants, approximately 90% of whom are foreigners, including the largest French and French-speaking community in the Gulf.
Relations between the two countries have developed considerably in recent years, particularly in the economic and military fields.
The state visit this week notably resulted in a partnership agreement on energy cooperation, as Paris seeks alternatives to Russian hydrocarbons.
“It is true that we have political and economic ties, but our cultural cooperation represents our greatest collaboration and this reflects the quality of this strategic partnership
,” said the Emirati president during a state dinner with his French counterpart. .
For Noura Al-Kaabi, the Louvre Abu Dhabi is
“a capital investment in people”
.
“In the future, I would like to see the (first) Emirati director of the Louvre”
in Abu Dhabi, a position currently occupied by the Frenchman Manuel Rabaté.
