In response to a kind official invitation from Monsignor Dr. Marco Navoni, Director of the Ambrosiana Library in Milan, Dr. Mohamed Kamel Gad, Director General of the Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage, and His Excellency Ahmed Obaid Al Mansouri, Chairman of the Crossroads of Civilizations Museum in Dubai, paid a working visit to the library from May 11 to 14, 2026, to explore avenues of cooperation and coordinate a partnership agreement between the three entities.
The visit began with a reception for the delegation by Monsignor Professor Dr. Marco Navoni, who reviewed the history of the Ambrosiana Library and its intellectual and academic role since its founding by Cardinal Federico Borromeo in 1609. He expressed his pleasure at strengthening cooperation between the three institutions, particularly given their shared goals and visions.
Following this, a meeting was held between Dr. Mohamed Kamel Gad and Ahmed Obaid Al Mansouri, in the presence of Monsignor Professor Dr. Francesco Bracci, Vice President of the Library; Monsignor Professor Dr. Alberto Rocca, Director of the Museum of Images and Paintings and Director of the Department of Far Eastern Studies; and Father Matteo Cremella, Director of the Department of Near Eastern Studies. The meeting focused on exploring frameworks for cooperation and areas of integration and coordination.
During the meeting, Monsignor Alberto Rocca commended the role of the United Arab Emirates, represented by the two institutions, in the fields of manuscript restoration, digitization of knowledge materials, and the dissemination of a culture of tolerance and intercultural dialogue through knowledge. He also expressed his appreciation for what he had witnessed during his previous visit to the Juma Al Majid Center last November, particularly the restoration and digitization work and the specialized laboratories that have contributed to saving a significant amount of intellectual heritage, especially in Central and West Africa and South and East Asia.
He also praised his meeting with His Excellency Juma Al Majid, commending his humanitarian mission in serving human heritage and the insights, achievements, and future aspirations he shared.
The meeting included a presentation by Dr. Fabio Cossimano, Director of Cataloging and the Digital Library, showcasing the progress made in employing modern technology and artificial intelligence tools for digitizing and editing manuscript images, particularly Arabic ones.
Following this, Monsignor Alberto Rocca accompanied Dr. Mohamed Kamel Gad and Ahmed Obaid Al Mansouri on a full-day tour of the manuscript repository at the Ambrosiana Library, which houses approximately 46,000 manuscripts, including nearly 2,600 Arabic manuscripts. The delegation viewed a collection of some of the finest Arabic, Greek, and Latin manuscripts, and also visited the museum of paintings and artifacts.
The visit concluded with a tour of the Duomo di Milano, built in 1386 by order of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, the first Duke of Milan.
In a related event, Dr. Mohamed Kamel Gad and His Excellency Ahmed Al Mansouri paid a working visit to the Braidense National Library in Milan (Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense), founded in 1770. The library houses approximately 1.5 million rare books, along with a large collection of manuscripts. They were received and accompanied by the library’s director, Cecilia Angeletti.
