The Dhow is a type of cargo commercial ship used in the Persian Gulf, East Africa, and Indian Ocean regions from as far back as 1,500 years or more until today. These thin hulled ships are used to carry heavy items, like fruit, fresh water, dates, fish and often pearls, with only wind and sails as a means of propulsion. This transportation enabled the societies within the regions to exchange foods, language and culture. Overcoming the hardships of the environment means a strength and determination for those that operated these vessels. 

The Kuwaiti have, since the beginning of their economic and social activity, engaged in the building of commercial vessels and conducted diving in an effort to control the harsh environment. Here two productive patterns predominated; the first was pearl diving, and second was the sector of trade and commodity bartering between posts in India and Africa’s east coast, as they were trading for their daily needs.  The Dhow is a symbol of the past and a link to the future continuity of human interaction and building bonds between peoples to ensure the continuation of life. 

The gift was presented by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Kuwait, H. E. Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to the United Nations and was accepted by Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar.

At the dedication ceremony, it was said that the gift can “symbolize our respect for the past and [] demonstrate our faith in the role the United Nations plays in brining nations together and in ensuring them determinants of progress.”