mbassy of Malaysia

Paris

5/08                                                                                                         06 April 2008

PRESS RELEASE

 OFFICIAL VISIT OF Y.B. DATUK MOHD. SHAFIE APDAL

MINISTER OF UNITY, CULTURE, ARTS  AND HERITAGE MALAYSIA  

TO FRANCE ON THE OCCASION OF THE ?AUTHENTIC MALAYSIA?

EXHIBITION AT THE UNESCO PARIS

Y.B. Datuk Mohd Shafie Apdal, Minister of Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage arrived in Paris on Saturday, April 5^th for an official visit to France from 5 to 10 April 2008.

2.  Y.B. Datuk Mohd Shafie Apdal who was accompanied by his wife YBhg. Datin Shuryani Dato? Shuib and officials from the Ministry of Unity, Arts, Culture and Heritage Malaysia were received on arrival at Charles de Gaulle airport by H.E. Kenneth J. Luis, Permanent Delegate of Malaysia to the Unesco.

3.  The Honourable Minister will launch an exhibition called ?Authentic Malaysia? to be held at the Unesco Hall on Monday, 7 April. The exhibition is part of a campaign to get recognition from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) for Penang and Melaka be named world heritage cities.  Malaysia has been waiting nearly three years to get Unesco recognition for the two cities to be named world heritage cities.  The Honourable Minister is also expected to host lunch for the Ambassadors and the Permanent Representatives of the Unesco as well. 

4.  Being the first Malaysian Minister to visit France since the recent general elections of March 8^th, the Honorable Minister will meet with the members of the newly established Umno Club France at a luncheon on Sunday April 6^th. On the same day, the Honourable Minister will address members of the Malaysian Association in France (MAF) during the association?s annual general meeting at the Embassy of Malaysia in Paris.

5.  The Honourable Minister will also visit the Quai Branly Museum and the Guimet Museum in Paris.  Opened in 2006, the Quai Branly Museum, which showcases the indigenous art and civilization of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas, was the brainchild of former French President Jacques Chirac. The Guimet Museum is an Asian art museum created back in 1889.  The Museum contains fine collections of Chinese and Japanese porcelain and many objects relating not only to the artwork of the East but also to those of Ancient Egypt and the classical antiquity.

6.  The Honourable Minister will also visit the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, the most prestigious and influential art school in France. The fine arts school founded in 1648 had trained many great artists in Europe such as Delacroix, Fragonard, Monet, Renoir, Seurat and Sisley. The school is a public establishment under the French Ministry of Culture and Communication.

7.  A dinner in honour of Y.B. Minister  and delegation will be hosted by Malaysian Ambassador to France and Portugal, H.E. Ambassador Dato? S. Thanarajasingam at Rumah Malaysia on Tuesday evening.

8.   The Minister departs Paris on Thursday, 10 April 2008.

Embassy of Malaysia

Paris

6 April 2008