Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) and member of the Dubai Council, met with Dario Nardella, Mayor of Florence, Italy at Expo 2020 Dubai.

The meeting explored new avenues of cooperation between Dubai and Florence in the fields of culture and creativity. The meeting also touched on potential programmes and projects that Dubai and Florence can jointly organise to enhance cultural and knowledge exchange and empower the cultural and creative sectors in both cities.

As part of the visit, Her Highness Sheikha Latifa and the Mayor of Florence also toured the Italian Pavilion, accompanied by Hala Badri, Director General of Dubai Culture and Tommaso Sacchi, Deputy Mayor for Culture, Fashion and Design of the City of Florence.

Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, said, “This meeting marks the start of many promising collaborations that will be of mutual benefit to the cultural and creative sectors in both Dubai and Florence. Apart from enhancing knowledge exchange between the two cities, such collaborations are able to create new opportunities for creatives working within these sectors. I look forward to our upcoming meetings, where we will draw a clear roadmap for a strategic partnership that is set to contribute to the development of the art and culture ecosystem in both cities.”

Dario Nardella, Mayor of Florence, Italy, said, “We are proud to begin a historic partnership between Florence and Dubai and appreciate Her Highness’s efforts and commitment to develop the cultural and creative sectors. We also recognise the importance of this cooperation, which falls in line with our efforts to implement projects between the two cities across different sectors including music, art, literature and poetry, education, fashion and crafts. We are pleased to have met Her Highness again following our first meeting at the UAE Pavilion in Expo 2020 Dubai and look forward to formalising this joint agreement at the earliest.”

The meeting is part of a series of visits undertaken by Her Highness Sheikha Latifa to Expo 2020 Dubai, where she has met with different stakeholders to discuss new avenues for collaborations that seek to benefit the cultural and creative sectors in Dubai.