Pope Francis has received the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, in audience this morning, reported Vatican Radio.
Abu Dhabi is one of seven emirates that constitute the United Arab Emirates.
Toward the end of the audience, the Prince gave Pope Francis an Afghan tapestry, which arrived from Afghanistan as part of a charitable project his daughter runs.
The Holy Father, on the other hand, gave the Prince a medallion depicting the ‘Tree of Peace,’ telling him “peace is our vocation.”
After meeting with Pope Francis, the delegation met with Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
The office of Prince Mohamed bin Zayed said, in tweets published after the audience, that the UAE “values Pope Francis’s efforts to confront violence and extremism,” and said he and the Pope discussed “enhancing bilateral ties, and issues of common interest.”
