DUBAI: Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum attended the opening session of "Poetry for Peaceful Coexistence" Forum held under his patronage on Sunday.

The Forum is organised by The Foundation of Abdulaziz Saud Al-Babtain's Prize for Poetic Creativity at Intercontinental Festival City Hotel, Dubai.

The three-day forum of literary and intellectual activity, will include a number of academics and writers in a range of research themes that reviews the relationship of poetry and understanding between the peoples.

Following a rendition of the national anthems of the UAE and Kuwait, the chairman of the foundation, Abdulaziz Al Babtain, delivered the opening speech welcoming the attendees and highlighting the role of poetry in catalysing dialogue between civilisations.

Al Babtain, himself a well-known poet, said that the selection of Dubai as a stage for the fifth edition of the forum reflects its leading role in bringing about peaceful co-existence and understanding between people from different cultural backgrounds.

Al Babtain praised Sheikh Mohammed as a true-hearted poet of Arabia who has instilled and nurtured the spirit of dialogue between cultures and played a pivotal role in sustaining a society characterised by tolerance, understanding and acceptance.

The Foundation of Abdulaziz Saud Al Babtain's Prize for Poetic Creativity honoured former Sudanese president and Chairman of the Islamic Da'wa Organisation in Africa Field Marshal Abdul Rahman Siwar Al Dhahab for his outstanding efforts in spreading the culture of peace and tolerance among different cultures and religions.

Concluding the opening ceremony, Sheikh Mohammed thanked poet Abdulaziz Al Babtain for his efforts in encouraging dialogue through poetry.