Saudi Arabia’s 32nd National Heritage and Cultural Festival will begin at Janadriyah, about 42 km northeast of Riyadh, on Feb. 7. India is the guest of honor at the 18-day long cultural jamboree this year.

Formerly known as the Janadriyah Festival, it has been the most prestigious Saudi event since 1985, organized by the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG).

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques himself patronizes the festival with the participation of the rulers of GCC member states or their representatives as special guests.

Royal family members, senior officials and ministers from friendly countries, as well as millions of Saudis and expatriates visit the festival.

The festival will showcase traditional activities, including folk dances, camel races, arts and crafts as well as poetry rendering for its entire duration.

There will be pavilions of all Saudi provinces displaying indigenous cultural heritage and traditions, providing an excellent opportunity to the visitors to have a glimpse of the glorious Saudi past and its contemporary richness.

With the aim of expanding its global outreach and find cultural synergies with the countries having rich cultural and civilizational heritage and contemporary technical advancement, the Saudi government started inviting a foreign country as the “guest of honor” every year and it is India this year.

“The Kingdom has always taken cognizance of India’s historical socio-economic-cultural bonding with the people of the Arabian Peninsula. The momentum of warmth and proximity in the bilateral engagement generated by the historic visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Riyadh in April 2016 and his interactions with the entire Saudi leadership, during which he emphasized on upgrading the present Indo-Saudi buyer-seller relationship into a more comprehensive strategic partnership, seems to be the main factor to accord India the privilege of being the guest of honor for Janadriyah 2018,” said a statement issued by the Indian Embassy in Riyadh.

“Our leadership in India and the Embassy of India in Riyadh are delighted to be part of this prestigious festival and extend our sincere thanks to the Saudi leadership for according this unprecedented privilege to our country,” the statement added.

A high-level ministerial delegation will be visiting Riyadh for the inaugural ceremony. “The festival provides us an effective platform to showcase India’s growing economic might, industrial prowess and the magic of our cultural performances. Our participation in the festival covers three broad areas: Stalls inside a big covered hall called India Pavilion; cultural performances reflecting classical and contemporary dances; and a series of seminars and B2B interactions,” the statement said.

India pavilion

India Pavilion will facilitate the participation of various ministries and corporates to represent India’s economic and technological strength in a befitting manner.

Apart from the specific segments reflecting various phases of Indo-Saudi bilateral engagements and glimpses of both traditional and contemporary India, the commercial segment will be represented by the Ministries of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH); Tourism; Shipping; Textile (Handicraft); Food Processing; Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP); Ordnance Factory Board; and Department of Space.

From the corporate side, L&T, Tata Motors and ITL World will have principal stalls, while the TPCI will facilitate participation of companies in Food Food Processing Sectors. Lulu will handle Flavors of India stall. INOX, Shapoorji Pallonji, Abeer Medical Group, KRBL Rice, Virat Exports, and TCIL will also have their presence in the India Pavilion.

Few other groups such as Ajmal Perfumes, Aster Medical Group, Apollo Medical Group, Jet Airways may also join.

Seminar

Apart from the India Pavilion, various activities are planned on the sidelines of the festival. A seminar will be organized on Feb. 12 at Hotel Intercontinental, Riyadh, with the participation of speakers from India and Saudi Arabia. There will be two sessions. The morning session will be on Indo-Saudi Arabia Bilateral Ties: Present Realities and Future Prospects. The post- lunch session will discuss bilateral economic cooperation and investment opportunities. Details of the speakers and their papers will be announced soon.

The event will be attended by a large yet select group of Saudi officials and businessmen. The Indian exhibitors at the India Pavilion including representatives of the Indian ministries participating in Janadriyah are also expected to attend.

In addition, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) will be organizing a seminar on Feb. 11 in association with the Saudi Council of Chambers with special focus on Food Processing and Make in India. The timing and venue will be communicated later.

B2B meetings for any interested exhibitor, Indian company and representatives of the Indian ministries attending the Janadriyah, is also under active consideration.

Cultural programs

The Saudi authorities have provided an open-air stage, adjacent to the hall meant for India Pavilion for staging cultural performances.

A variety of performances, yoga demonstration, Bollywood film screening as well as display of Arabic Calligraphic specimen from Rampur Raza Library will be part of the cultural activities planned by the Indian mission.

A brochure containing details of the daily cultural activities will be released before the festival’s inauguration.

The cultural troupes coming from various parts of India include Kathakali, Manipuri, Rajasthani, Kathak, Purlia Chhau, Bhangra, Bollywood and Kalaripaitu groups. Some cultural performances will also be staged by the students of the International Indian Schools in Riyadh, Jubail and Dammam.

A yoga demonstration will take place every day between 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Cultural performances will take place every day from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Film screening will take place every day from 9 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.

The embassy has planned Indian community participation on state basis. All the states that have shown interest to participate have been accommodated. Display of traditional attire, classical dances, perfumes, tourism sites and cuisine specialties will be part of the state stalls. In the community stall, people from various states dressed in their traditional attire are likely to serve their traditional cuisine for free sampling. — SG