The India – UAE cultural celebrations festival was launched at Abu Dhabi with a tribute video featuring both Mahatma Gandhi and late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan – two iconic figures. The video took the audience through a journey of shared values, pluralism and multiculturalism between the two nations.<br/><br/>India-UAE Cultural Celebrations: a cultural partnership for a positive future is a cultural engagement programme between India and the United Arab Emirates, which celebrates the long-standing relationship between the two countries and looks to strengthen existing cultural and economic ties.<br/><br/>The programme supported by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, UAE and the Indian Business and Professional Group, will involve various other Indian business and community groups. The initiative proposes to bring some of the diversity of India to the UAE by bringing artists from both the countries on the same platform to work and collaborate.<br/><br/>Speaking to All India Radio, Indian Ambassador to UAE, Navdeep Suri said that Indian community in the UAE has taken the initiative to strengthen cultural bonds between India and the UAE. He added that this is a natural extension of the strategic partnership that two countries have established and the exchanges that are taking place at the highest political levels.<br/>UAE Minister of Culture Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan said that India-UAE Cultural Celebrations initiative is cultural diplomacy at its best.