The National Archives Receives the Saudi Ambassador to the UAE



His Excellency Turki Aldakhil, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the UAE, visited the UAE National Archives Headquarters in Abu Dhabi and praised the critical national role it plays in documenting the history of the UAE and preserving the archives of the Gulf Region countries.

During his visit, His Excellency Turki Aldakhil was warmly received by His Excellency Dr. Abdulla Muhammad Alraisi, Director General of the National Archives and His Excellency Abdulla Majed Al Ali, Executive Director of the National Archives. They discussed cultural issues of mutual interest and mechanisms for enhancing collaboration between the UAE National Archives and King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives and the National Center for Archives and Records in Saudi Arabia. They also discussed the importance of exchanging specialized expertise and advanced technical programs for the memory of the nation preservation and access.

His Excellency was impressed with the advanced modern systems he witnessed at the National Archives, especially the technology adopted for the preservation of rare historical documentary holdings and treasures. He thanked the National Archives for its participation in the national events of Saudi Arabia and expressed his hope for strengthening the UAE-Saudi ties in archiving and documentation fields. His Excellency also praised the National Archives adherence to all necessary precautionary measures adopted to counter and contain Covid-19 pandemic.

His Excellency Dr. Abdulla Alraisi highly appreciated the visit of His Excellency the Saudi Ambassador, and considered it an important step towards strengthening relations between the National Archives and archiving and documentation institutions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. His Excellency discussed with his guest the importance of the great upcoming archival event, namely, the Congress of the International Council on Archives, which will be hosted by Abu Dhabi next October and stressed that the leading professionals in Saudi National Archives will be at the forefront of the invitees to this event, which will be held under the theme "Empowering Knowledge Societies". His Excellency said that the ICA Congress Abu Dhabi 2021 will discuss important archival issues such as: artificial intelligence, sustainable knowledge as a basis for sustainable development, and confronting archives preservation challenges in social media.

His Excellency the Director General of the UAE National Archives accompanied His Excellency the Saudi Ambassador, in a tour of the various key National Archives Headquarters facilities and briefed him on the key projects and most important initiatives aimed at enhancing and developing archival business and profession.



The National Archives

The National Archives of the Ministry of Presidential Affairs was first established in 1968 upon the directives of the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, with the aim of collecting documents and information relating to the history and heritage of the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf region. Forty years later, HH Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE President, issued Federal Law No. (7) of 2008 changing its name to be the National Center for Documentation and Research (NCDR), and assigning it to organize the various UAE government entities archives. In 2014, HH Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued Federal Law No. (1) of 2014, eventually changing its name to the National Archives.