Saadiyat Island

The Louvre Abu Dhabi's license has been extended by 10 years to 2047, the French presidency said on Dec. 3 during a visit by Emmanuel Macron to the United Arab Emirates.

An 8,000-year-old pearl that archaeologists say is the world's oldest will be displayed in Abu Dhabi, according to authorities who said Oct. 20 it is proof the objects have been traded since Neolithic times.

Ten years after the signing of an intergovernmental agreement between France and the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi, a Louvre branch opens, reports BNT. 

The Louvre Abu Dhabi will finally open its doors to the public in November, bringing to the Gulf Mesopotamian artifacts and post-impressionist masterpieces in the first Louvre-branded museum outside of Paris.

Housing 600 works of art, including 300 loaned by 13 French museums for the inaugural year, the Louvre Abu Dhabi is described as the "first universal museum" in the Arab world.

Human Rights Watch urged the Louvre and Guggenheim museums on Feb. 10 to pressure the United Arab Emirates to end worker abuse on a project that will host branches of the institutions.