UAE removes Qatar from its Louvre museum map amid Gulf spat

The Louvre Abu Dhabi, which opened its doors to the public in November last year, nearly ten years after an agreement with France was made to loan the name of the Louvre to the United Arab Emirates. The agreement came as part of a deal with Agence France-Museums reportedly worth in excess of $1 billion.

In a central space under the dome, the Louvre Abu Dhabi boasts a Children’s Museum as an educational and engaging space specifically tailored to children.

New pictures emerged on social media however, showing that a map of the southern Gulf in the children’s section of the new flagship museum, completely omits the Qatari peninsula - a geographical deletion that may not sit well with the agreement made with France.

New low: Abu Dhabi erases Qatar from the map in its Louvre museum

On 5 June, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic and economic ties with gas-rich Qatar, accusing it of links to extremist groups.

Saudi Arabia then issued Qatar with a list of demands, including shutting down media outlets Al Jazeera and London-based The New Arab, curbing relations with Iran, and closing a Turkish military base in the emirate.

Qatar denies the charges and says the boycott is aimed at curtailing its sovereignty.

On Monday, US president Donald Trump praised Doha for its counter-terrorism efforts as rival UAE sought to escalate the crisis with unsubstantiated claims Doha had intercepted Emirati civilian planes.

President Trump had initially tweeted in support of the Saudi-led measures against Qatar, but the US has since taken the middle ground between its allies in the Gulf region.