Pope Francis (R) exchanges gifts with Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan (L), during a private audience at the Vatican in 2016. Francis will visit the United Arab Emirates next year. File Photo courtesy EPA/Claudio Peri

Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Pope Francis will visit Abu Dhabi in February, making him the first Catholic pontiff to visit the United Arab Emirates, the Vatican said Thursday.

Francis will visit the Middle Eastern nation Feb. 3 to 5 for an interfaith meeting on "Human Fraternity," upon invitation by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a Vatican statement said.


The theme of his trip will be "Make Me A Channel of Your Peace," Greg Burke, the director of the Holy See Press Office, said.

"That's the Pope's intention in going to the United Arab Emirates," Burke said. "How all people of goodwill can work for peace will be a major topic on this trip."

The visit will be his seventh to a Muslim-majority country.

Burke said the upcoming visit to Abu Dhabi, like Francis' trip to Egypt last year, "shows the fundamental importance the Holy Father gives to inter-religious dialogue."

The crown prince tweeted that he was "delighted" to welcome the pontiff as "a symbol of peace and tolerance and the promotion of human brotherhood."

"We look forward to a historic visit, through which we seek to maximize the opportunities for dialogue and peaceful coexistence among peoples," the crown prince tweeted.