Sharjah 24: His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, was bestowed with the National Order of the Legion of Honour at the rank of Grand Officer, the highest national honour at the level of the French Republic, bestowed on His Highness by His Excellency Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, and handed to him by His Excellency Nicholas Nemchenau, Ambassador of the Republic of France to the UAE, this evening, Tuesday, in the Badi Palace.

Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah; Sheikh Abdullah bin Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah; and Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, were also present at the event. His Highness was awarded the medal in honour of his scientific, cultural, and literary accomplishments, as well as his support for bilateral ties between the UAE and the French Republic in a variety of disciplines.

In a speech given on this occasion, His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah expressed gratitude to the President of France for bestowing upon him the nation's highest honour, the National Order of the Legion of Honour at the rank of Grand Officer. He said, "We thank His Excellency Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, who decided to award us, by a special decree, the "Order of the National Order of the Legion of Honour at the rank of Grand Officer. I would also want to express my gratitude to His Excellency Nicholas Nemchenau, French Ambassador to the UAE, for entrusting us with this responsibility.

His Highness mentioned the French honour bestowed upon him earlier in his speech, saying, "On the twenty-second of July 2003, the French Republic honoured me with the award of the "Order of the French Republic for Arts and Letters, with the rank of Grand Officer," in the Grand Ceremonies Hall at the headquarters of the Ministry of Culture and Communication in Paris in the middle of official ceremony. In a speech, I thanked the French government for the honour, which I saw as a mandate to continue cultural giving, and I discussed the Republic of France's pioneering role in intellectual enlightenment and civilised communication, as well as its contributions to the cultural field, translation, and literature, and the spread of the concepts of freedom and justice.

His Highness added, "Since that assignment, I began to collect all that was written about the cultural history of the French Republic, using the titles of books in the Egyptian Scientific Institute in Cairo, and I had an old friendship with the Academy, which was established on the twenty-second of August 1798, when the President of the institute at the time was" Gaspard Monge and his deputy, Napoleon Bonaparte, commander of the French forces in Egypt, I collected nearly 8,000 titles, and I decided to establish a scientific institute for those books, similar to the French Institute as well as the Egyptian Institute, and I decided that the Sharjah Institute would be the third of the trio.

"On the evening of December 16, 2011, I was watching TV in the city of Paris, and the Egyptian Institute was burning while people were rushing to transfer the burnt books, and sadness had spread to all Egyptians; it was sinful hands extended to that compound," His Highness said, referring to the events at the Egyptian Institute.

"The Egyptian Institute was rebuilt," His Highness said, "and I presented all the books I had acquired to it, which amounted to approximately 8,000 titles." I also made a deposit for the Egyptian Institute in order to protect it from going bankrupt. I recollected everything I gave to the Egyptian Academy again, because these French books are rare, but I will finish acquiring them soon, and I began building the Sharjah Institute as well as writing the cultural history of France, which consists of four chapters, the first of which is "The Century of Lights," in that eighteenth century, The foundations of Western society and civilization are the result of that era, which was made by the ideas of intellectuals who were called philosophers in that era, such as Denis Diderot, the founder of the "Encyclopédie," jointly with D’Alembert, and among the liberal philosophers of that century, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire."

His Highness continued discussing his book, saying, "Chapter Two: The Century of Lights Still Shines" is about the nineteenth century, when the case of "Dreyfus" and "Emile Zola" took place, and intellectuals emerged as a collective force when they defended "Dreyfus" and freed him from prison.

Chapter three takes place in the twentieth century and is titled "The Beautiful Era." Anyone interested in discovering more about this period could visit Sharjah, which is home to several educational institutions, cultural landmarks, and recreational hotspots.

In the fourth chapter, titled "Controversial Issues on Globalisation and Cultural Exception," I detailed everything that had happened in relation to globalisation, along with the way they used the concept of a clash of civilizations to justify its justification. France, at the helm of the European Union, began vigorously defending the idea of cultural exception; it prevailed; I will publish this book to introduce all Arabs to French culture.

At the end of his speech, His Highness affirmed that Sharjah welcomes all forms of cooperation with friends and partners in this cultural orientation with which the French Republic is linked, hoping that His Highness will continue enhancing the ties between the two countries.

In his speech on the occasion, France's ambassador to the UAE, Nicholas Nemchenau, praised His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah's efforts in various humanitarian, educational, cultural, and historical fields, including peaceful coexistence, the environment, climate, and other areas, which gave France pride in awarding His Highness this prestigious medal as one of the world's high-ranking personalities.

The French ambassador was pleased to see that His Highness had been honoured with a number of medals and decorations in the areas of the arts, culture, literature, writing, and history, all of which serve to highlight His Highness's universally admired and respected position.

While presenting you with this honour, France hopes to emphasise the "distinction of your high-level personality in leadership, culture, and deep friendship with our country," as Nicholas Nemchenau put it: "Our country salutes and appreciates your unremitting commitment to community public work, youth education, culture, and fruitful cooperative bilateral relations."

The French ambassador to the country addressed the importance of the "National Order of the Legion of Honour at the rank of Grand Officer", which was first awarded in 1802, and it symbolises merit, distinction, and inherent values. The five-pointed star of the Legion’s emblem is surrounded by oak and laurel leaves, which symbolise strength, dignity, glory, wisdom, and peace, which are distinguished qualities His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah possesses and has shown throughout his long career in working for the benefit of societies. 

Nicholas Nemchenau lauded the efforts of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah for the Emirate of Sharjah's outstanding achievements in the field of arts and culture. The emirate has seen the flourishing of cultural, artistic, and educational projects of all kinds, making it a true reference in the region and the world in these fields and a unique place for organising many international cultural events and activities, which are supervised by specialised institutions like the Sharjah Biennial, the Sharjah International Book Fair, and prestigious universities, not to mention the real investment in the education and training of youth, science, and knowledge. His Highness's personal contribution to writing, publishing, and the revision of important historical and geographical manuscripts.

The French ambassador called on His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah to visit France, recalling his previous visits, his meetings with a number of French presidents, Sharjah's participation in the Paris exhibition, and other occasions.

The French Ambassador concluded his speech by addressing a number of future projects in which France intends to cooperate with the Emirate of Sharjah, to promote French culture through the opening of cultural centres and cooperation in the educational fields, in addition to strengthening cooperation and relations in the fields of cinema and art festivals, and exchange of visits by artists, directors and those engaged in heritage issues, as well as participation in the book fair, cooperation with art institutions, organising joint exhibitions and scientific conferences with universities, fruitful economic exchange, in addition to cooperation in the fields of energy, waste management, water, transportation, environmental preservation and the future of the planet.

The National Order of the Legion of Honour at the rank of Grand Officer is granted to His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, in recognition of His Highness's support for the process of community public work, the education of youth and culture, and the promotion of fruitful cooperative bilateral relations. The Medal is an addition to His Highness's extensive collection of accolades, awards, medals, prizes, credentials, and ground-breaking initiatives. His Highness received the Order of Saint Mesrop Mashtots from the Republic of Armenia, the Medal of the French Republic for Letters and Arts, the Medal of the Academy of Sciences in Lisbon, as well as numerous other decorations, medals, and shields of recognition from nations all over the world.

The National Order of the Legion of Honour at the rank of Grand Officer, is one of the highest national honours in the Republic of France, and it is bestowed on French or foreign personalities in recognition of their efforts to strengthen cooperation relations between the French Republic and friendly countries in a variety of fields.

The ceremony was attended by Sheikh Mohammed bin Saud Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Finance Department; Sheikh Khalid bin Abdullah Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Ports, Customs and Free Zones Authority; Sheikha Hoor bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Sharjah Art Foundation; Sheikh Salem bin Abdulrahman Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Ruler’s Office; Sheikh Khalid bin Issam Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Department of Civil Aviation; Sheikh Fahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Department of Government Relations; Sheikh Mohammed bin Humaid Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Department of Statistics and Community Development; Sheikh Majid bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Department of Suburbs and Villages Affairs; Abdul Rahman bin Mohammed Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention; and several senior officials.