Saudi Gazette report

ROME — Culture will be a vital engine for a more sustainable world and a more prosperous future for all people, said Saudi Arabia Culture Minister Prince Badr Bin Abdullah Bin Farhan here on Friday.

He made the remarks during his participation in the G20 meeting of culture ministers in the Italian capital, Rome.

“Saudi Arabia is committed to strengthening international dialogue on ways to secure the recovery for cultural and creative sectors from the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic in order to achieve the full potential of these sectors.

The G20 ministerial meeting hosted by Italy represented the culmination of the work of the “Cultural Sherpa Track within the framework of the G-20 agenda, a track that was created during the Kingdom's presidency of the summit in the year 2020.

The current presidency has identified five priorities for the “Sherpa Cultural Track” meetings which are the following:

Culture and creative industries as key drivers of sustainability and growth

Protection of cultural heritage

Addressing climate change through culture

Capacity building through training and education

Digital transformation from a cultural perspective

During the meeting, the Saudi culture minister said that he is honored to be here as the vice president of this ministerial meeting of and expressed his deep appreciation to all the participants for their commitment to continuing the cultural debate within the framework of the group based on the first joint meeting of culture ministers held during the Kingdom’s presidency of the group last year.

He praised the efforts of the Italian presidency in building on the commitments of the first joint meeting of culture ministers, which resulted in laying the foundations for fruitful cooperation among the G20 members in order to achieve their commitments.

“Collectivism is associated with culture as an engine of development and a key factor in prosperity,” he remarked.

Prince Badr reviewed Saudi Arabia's continuous efforts to preserve cultural heritage and support culture, noting that the Kingdom has made great strides in its efforts to preserve cultural heritage, including its success in registering six sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

He highlighted the Kingdom's commitment to strengthening international dialogue on the role of culture in mitigating the effects of climate change and to contribute to reimagining the relationship between cultural policies and environmental sustainability.

The culture minister referred to the launch of initiatives in the areas of research and capacity development support, education and empowerment, and exploring the enormous potential of digitization in the cultural sectors to increase their contribution to economic growth.

He recalled that Saudi Arabia is a member of the Troika (the former presidency country) of the G20, along with Italy, the current presidency, and Indonesia, the next presidency.