French President Macron participates in the opening of the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi

French President Emmanuel Macron participated in the opening of the new Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, whose construction cost exceeded one billion dollars.

It took 10 years to build the new Louvre, and it contains about 600 works of art on permanent display, in addition to 300 works that France loaned to the museum temporarily.

Art critics praised the massive building, which includes a lattice-shaped dome designed to let the desert sun through and into the museum.

The museum presents works and pieces of art that embody history and religion, collected from around the world.

French President Macron described it as a "bridge between civilizations," adding, "Those who claim that Islam seeks to destroy other religions are liars."

Abu Dhabi and France announced the details of the project in 2007, and it was scheduled to be completed and opened in 2012, but construction was delayed due to the decline in oil prices as well as the global financial crisis that hit the world in 2008.

The final cost of the project increased from $654 million when the contract was signed, to more than $XNUMX billion after the actual completion of all construction.

In addition to the cost of construction, Abu Dhabi is paying France hundreds of millions of dollars to use the name of the Louvre, to borrow original pieces for display and to provide technical advice from Paris.

The museum sparked controversy during construction due to concerns about the conditions surrounding the workers who were involved in the construction.

Yet his critics saw it as a "proud success" even when it was "exaggerated".

The museum is the first in a series of huge cultural projects through which the UAE government aims to create a cultural oasis on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi.

The Louvre Museum in Paris is one of the important and prominent landmarks in the French capital, and the largest art museum in the world, visited by millions annually.

The Emirates hired the French engineer Jean Nouvel to design the Louvre Abu Dhabi, who took into account the design of the Arab city (the old quarter of the city).

The museum has 55 rooms, including 23 permanent galleries, and none of them are anything like the other.

The lattice dome protects the visitors from the heat of the sun while allowing light to penetrate all rooms and giving them natural light and glow.

Galleries display works from all over the world, by major European artists such as Van Gogh, Gauguin and Picasso, Americans such as James Abbott McNeil and Whistler, and even modern Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.

There is also a partnership with Arab institutions that loaned the museum 28 valuable works.

Among the priceless found artifacts are a statue of a Sphinx dating from the sixth century BC, and a piece of tapestry depicting figures in the Qur'an.

The museum will open its doors to the public on Saturday. All entry tickets were sold out early, with a value of 60 dirhams ($16.80) each.

Emirati officials hope the building's splendor will allay concerns about labor welfare and controversy over delays and increased costs.