Casa Árabe is an international institute active in Arab and Islamic world studies. It was created with the mission to strengthen and consolidate Spain’s multifaceted relationship with Arab countries, and to promote its role as an academic reference on the history and current affairs of the Islamic world.

Yasser Hareb, Vice President for Culture, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, and Gema Martin Munoz, Director General of Casa Árabe, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during a ceremony attended by Manuel Pineiro, Ambassador of Spain.

The agreement is in line with the Foundation's strategy to explore new avenues of effective culture cooperation between the Arab world and knowledge producing countries. The MoU defines fields of collaboration in organising international forums with the participation of Arab, Spanish and Latin American writers of Arab origin; the translation of bestseller books from Arabic into Spanish and vice versa, and launching exchange programmes for writers and researchers between Spain and the UAE.

Praising Casa Árabe’s efforts in fostering culture relations between Europe and the Arab world, Yasser Hareb stressed the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation's commitment to initiating and bolstering relations with leading regional and international culture organizations.

Jamal Al Shehhi, Director of Culture, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation said: "We are confident our agreement will build on the historic relations that link Spain with the Arab world to initiate a new era of rich and constructive cultural interaction between the region and Europe. Sharing a common objective to facilitate the seamless flow of knowledge between the two regions, the Foundation and Casa Árabe will work hard towards succeeding this initiative."

Gema Martin Munoz said: “Despite the common heritage of Andalusia shared by Spain and the Arab world, there is still a great need to draw our countries closer through collaboration, dialogue and cultural exchange. The Arab world’s enthusiasm to develop greater awareness of our socio-cultural environment and achievements matches our zeal to explore the rich Arab cultural and social landscape.”

Operating out of Madrid and Cordoba, Casa Árabe was established in 2006 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation, the autonomous communities of Madrid and Andalusia, and the City Councils of Madrid and Cordoba.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation was launched in May 2007 with an endowment of US$10 billion to invest in a series of programmes that provide the necessary infrastructure and set the appropriate environment for knowledge creation in the Arab world.

Encouraging Arab intellectual output, facilitating knowledge transfer, nurturing young talent, and setting the right environment for cultural development are among the key strategic objectives of the Foundation.