SALT LAKE CITY — The United Arab Emirates embassy in the United States sent a series of tweets Monday morning congratulating President Russell M. Nelson and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on their announcement Sunday of a temple to be built in Dubai.

The church’s official Twitter account responded later Monday. It retweeted the embassy’s tweet and expressed gratitude for the UAE’s commitment to a vibrant interfaith community.

The messages from the embassy’s official Twitter account noted the historic nature of the planned temple, which will be the church’s first in the Middle East. It also recognized that the temple will serve thousands of people throughout the region.

“The UAE welcomes this very important milestone,” one of the embassy’s tweets said. “This new house of worship will join the diverse gathering of other religions in the UAE, where we welcome multi-national congregations and have built houses of worship throughout our country.”

“This includes,” an additional tweet said, “the recently announced Abrahamic Family House, which will include a church, mosque and synagogue in Abu Dhabi to create mutual understanding among people of all faiths and belief systems,” the tweet said.

President Nelson announced the temple on Sunday afternoon at the end of the church’s two-day international general conference broadcast to millions around the world.

“The plan for a temple in Dubai comes in response to their gracious invitation, which we gratefully acknowledge,” he said.

In its official tweet Monday afternoon, the church thanked the UAE for its commitment to being “an open place for all faiths.”

“Thank you to all who have worked diligently to make the building of the temple in Dubai possible. We are grateful for the commitment to make the United Arab Emirates an open place for all faiths, and we are pleased to be a part of this vibrant interfaith community,” the official church tweet said.

President Nelson also announced seven other new temples on Sunday.

Thank you to all who have worked diligently to make the building of the temple in Dubai possible. We are grateful for the commitment to make the United Arab Emirates an open place for all faiths, and we are pleased to be a part of this vibrant interfaith community. https://t.co/FP6sSYo097 — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (@Ch_JesusChrist) April 6, 2020

This includes the recently announced Abrahamic Family House, which will include a church, mosque and synagogue in Abu Dhabi to create mutual understanding among people of all faiths and belief systems. #UAEUSA — UAE Embassy US (@UAEEmbassyUS) April 6, 2020

Omar Saif Ghobash, the UAE’s assistant minister for cultural affairs in the Cabinet of the United Arab Emirates who previously served stints as the nation’s ambassador to France and Russia, hailed the news of the Dubai Temple.

“Our openness to all faiths continues unimpeded,” he wrote. “Superb news.”

Our openness to all faiths continues unimpeded. Superb news. https://t.co/mH2fuqquqW — Omar Saif Ghobash (@OmarSaifGhobash) April 6, 2020

The UAE’s director of strategic communications in the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also sent a congratulatory tweet.

“UAE is proud to welcome Latter-day Saints community to worship together with the future construction of a temple in Dubai,” wrote Hend Al Otaiba. “Temple will be the Church’s 1st in Middle East, symbolizing spirit of interfaith tolerance and unity upon which UAE was founded.”

UAE is proud to welcome Latter-day Saints community to worship together with the future construction of a temple in Dubai. Temple will be the Church’s 1st in Middle East, symbolizing spirit of interfaith tolerance and unity upon which UAE was founded.https://t.co/VW8MVwxtxp — هند مانع العتيبة Hend Al Otaiba (@hend_mana) April 6, 2020

More than 1,600 Latter-day Saints live in the United Arab Emirates.

“The United Arab Emirates has been an example of tolerance and religious inclusion since the country was founded in 1971,” a church news release said.

The country is scheduled to host the international Expo 2020 Dubai beginning in October. The new temple will be built on the expo’s legacy site, which will be called District 2020, according to the release. The site will include both a meetinghouse and a temple. Church members in Dubai will meet for weekly worship services in that meetinghouse.

The Dubai temple also is expected to serve thousands more throughout the Persian Gulf States. The church has two stakes and a number of districts in the region, which includes the Middle East, northern Africa, eastern Europe and western Asia, according to the release.

The United Arab Emirates sits on the Persian Gulf and borders Saudi Arabia and Oman.

Abu Dhabi is the largest of the seven emirates that comprises the United Arab Emirates. One of the church’s stakes in the Middle East is the Abu Dhabi Stake. A stake is a unit of church organization that oversees a group of congregations. The stake includes a Tagalog-speaking ward for members from the Philippines. The church does not proselyte in the UAE.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Abu Dhabi Stake Center in 2013. It is the church’s first self-standing meetinghouse in the Middle East.