Abu Dhabi crown prince meets pope in the Vatican
The crown prince of Abu Dhabi met Pope Francis at the Vatican on Thursday to discuss religious tolerance.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, who is also deputy head of the UAE’s armed forces, arrived in Rome on Wednesday ahead of the meeting.
"There is a pressing need for stronger cooperation between countries and organisations to formulate policies that promote values of tolerance and dialogue and constructive communication between civilisations," bin Zayed told the Emirati news agency WAM after touching down in Rome.
The Twitter account of the Emirati royal family shared news of the Vatican visit, using the Arabic hashtag “The UAE is a country of peace and tolerance”.
Translation: During the visit by Mohammed bin Zayed to the Vatican, where he was greeted with an official welcome #TheUAEIsACountryOfPeaceAndTolerance
“The UAE has been able to become an example for the co-existence between the many cultures found on its soil,” bin Zayed wrote in tweets about the visit.
“The UAE appreciates the efforts of the Vatican to fight extremism, violence and attempts to denigrate religion.”
The visit also saw bin Zayed meet Italy's prime minister, Matteo Renzi.
Bin Zayed was accompanied on the trip by his foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, and international cooperation minister Reem al-Hashemi.
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