Qatar (Emir of)

State dinner

June 22-24, 2009

A few hours after his speech to the Versailles Congress, Nicolas Sarkozy received the Emir of Qatar at the Élysée Palace. At a dinner, which opened a three-day visit to France to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries, Nicolas Sarkozy applauded the action of the second wife of His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned runs the Qatar Foundation. As well as her role as Advisor for Family Affairs and Higher Education, this woman, ranked among the most influential women in the Arab world according to Newsweek, has been working for education, science and development since 1995. Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned, who in November 2008 inaugurated the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha  (designed by Ieoh Ming Pei), declared she wanted to “highlight the values of Muslim civilization and the role of this civilization in bringing cultures and human values closer together. ” She added: “We want to show that Islam is a peaceful civilization that has always called for tolerance and cohabitation among peoples.“  In this oil-producing country that is among the most liberal on the peninsula, access to knowledge appears to be a priority. The world’s most renowned architects were called upon to design the universities, all linked to major US schools such as Carnegie Mellon and Georgetown University. The Foundation’s huge library, which will be accessible in 2010 to schools, universities and research centers, will be designed by  architect Rem Koolhaas as part of a model university complex.