LONDON: The Emirates Society, a UK-based friendship group dedicated to strengthening UK-UAE ties, organized a Ramadan iftar in the heart of the British capital to celebrate Emirati culture and heritage.
“Ramadan of course is important for those of the faith and of those who are not, because we know how much it means at home (the UAE), and we all want to celebrate that and it’s just that happy opportunity at the end of the day to get together,” Alistair Burt, a former British government minister and chairman of the Emirates Society, told Arab News.
The event, which was held at the UAE-owned Carlton Tower Jumeirah in London, attracted a wide range of people, including MPs, ambassadors, heads of think tanks and charity organizations, and businessmen, all of whom are interested in fostering UK-UAE ties.
Burt, who has been involved with the society since its launch in 2018 by UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, is stepping down as chairman to give the opportunity to someone else to take it to the next stage.
“I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved. We’ve had some landmark events, both in person, and virtually, we’ve been to Mars, and we’ve had opportunities here, we’ve spoken about difficult things, we’ve spoken about easy things, we’ve really looked at culture, and art and design in London, and I think we’ve built up the relationship with colleagues very much, so it’s ready for the next stage,” he said.
In the last year, the society has held a variety of exhibitions, lectures and discussions on topics ranging from food waste, to archaeology and investment opportunities.
“For me, it’s always been about broadening the relationship away from the things that the newspapers talk about. Newspapers and politics are all about some very straightforward things, it’s defense and security, it’s taking in the Middle East in that context.”
During his tenure as the British minister for the Middle East, he said he was more interested in the “people underneath all this,” who are interested in contemporary things, whereas in Britain “there’s a tendency to look back.”
Nusrat Ghani, the Conservative MP for Wealden in East Sussex, said holding the iftar was “incredibly valuable” as it brought people together and gave them the opportunity to enjoy other cultures.
“It’s lovely to meet so many of my Emirati friends and those in the diplomatic services, we haven’t met up for quite some time because of COVID-19, and just catching up on conversations we had a few years ago,” she said, adding that they spoke about the environment, the new technology that the UAE could be harnessing and exploiting for many more people across the world, upcoming elections in Lebanon and extremism.
“There’s a lot of overlap in what happens between our countries and what interests our voters, our constituents, and I’m hoping that we can continue these conversations and make some really good decisions about things that matter to them, everything from security to the environment,” Ghani added.