The National Archives receives the historical documents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
The National Archives receives the historical documents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
The National Archives received 251 boxes of historical documents from the Central Archives of the Documents and Archives Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. This step reflected the two parties' keenness to perform their national role in building the UAE documentary record.
The National Archives received the historical documents in the first stage, which included facts and information about the ministry's building foreign relations following the establishment of the union, and its historical achievements, as an important and integral part of the memory of the nation.
On this occasion, His Excellency Abdullah Majid Al Ali, Executive Director of the National Archives, said: This is an important step within the framework of collecting and preserving the memory of the nation for future generations, and making it available to researchers and all interested in the history and heritage of the UAE and the Gulf region. He extended his sincere thanks and great appreciation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for handing over their historical documents to be kept at the National Archives stores in the Center for Preservation and Restoration, which is equipped with the best environmental conditions and international practices for preserving paper archives.
His Excellency said: We are approaching all government entities' archives to hand over their historical documents to the National Archives to preserve and protect them against loss or damage, especially that the restoration laboratory located at the National Archives’ Center for Preservation and Restoration is highly equipped for and efficient in the restoration and treatment of fragile, fraying or perishable historical documents.
His Excellency Abdullah Mohammed Al Bulooki, Assistant Undersecretary for Support Services Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation - praised the National Archives’ Center for Preservation and Restoration, noting the National Archives’ readiness to receive the documents transferred to it, being fully equipped with all requirements and highest standards to provide the necessary environment for the permanent preservation of transferred archives. His Excellency thanked the National Archives for its highly appreciated cooperation with the Documents and Archives Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, stressing that handing over the Ministry’s historical archives to the National Archives comes within the framework of enhancing constructive and fruitful cooperation between the two parties for the benefit of the UAE and preserving the documentary heritage of the nation.
Hamad Al-Mutairi, Director of the Archives Department at the National Archives, said: The National Archives is always keen, to adopt the best practices and quality standards in the various stages of archiving the documents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, starting with the preparation of an inventory of the historical archive which will be handed over then classified in special lists, following which a specialized team from the National Archives paid a field visit to the Minestry’s headquarters to inspect its archives and check the lists stating the historical documents to be transferred to the National Archives to ensure these lists match the stored documents, to be later transferred for permanent preservation in the National Archives stores.
National Archives
The Ministry of Presidential Affairs’ National Archives of the UAE was established in 1968 upon the directives of the Late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, with the aim of collecting and documenting information relating to the history and heritage of the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf region. Forty years after its establishment, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE issued Federal Law No. 7 of 2008 changing its name to be the National Center for Documentation and Research, entrusted with organizing the UAE government entities’ archives, and later the name was changed by H.H. the UAE President to be the National Archives in accordance with Federal Law No. 1 of 2014.
