Dublin, Ireland, 11 August 2018 - His Excellency President Michael Higgins of Ireland and his wife Sabina Mary Coyne, today received His Highness the Aga Khan at their official residence Áras an Uachtaráin. The occasion honoured the Aga Khan’s Diamond Jubilee which concluded last month.

The Aga Khan, whose family’s engagement with Ireland’s equine industry and related economic development spans three generations, is Imam (spiritual leader) of the world’s Shia Ismaili Muslims. In the context of his hereditary responsibilities, he also heads the Aga Khan Development Network, one of the world’s largest private, non-denominational, group of international development agencies.

The two leaders expressed their commitment to working together to support sustainable development and the strengthening of civil society and of human resource capacity to improve the quality of life and create opportunity in various parts of the world.

The Aga Khan's Diamond Jubilee year, which concluded on 11 July 2018, marked the 60th anniversary of the Aga Khan’s accession to the Imamat, (the institution and office of spiritual leadership of the Shia Ismaili Muslims).