By: Ali Abu-Dashish
CAIRO, Dec. 18 (SEE)- Dr. Inas Abdel Dayem , The Minister of Culture, and His Highness Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, The Chairman of The General Authority For Tourism And National Heritage in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, signed an executive program for cooperation in the fields of crafts and handicrafts industry between The Ministry of Culture of The Arab Republic of Egypt and The General Authority For Tourism And National Heritage in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Abdel-Dayem stressed that this cooperation is the beginning of multidirectional cultural stages and the first step of exchanging the experiences and cultural investment between the two countries.
Actually, the aim of this agreement is to strengthen the close ties between the two countries and to highlight the role of crafts and handicrafts in realizing the unity of people and in enhancing the friendly relations and cooperation between the two brotherly countries.
“This program aims at enhancing the handicrafts sector to strengthen the cooperation between the two countries on the economic, social, heritage and cultural levels through the exchange of information and studies about this field ,” noted Abdel-Dayem.
The program also supports the development of technical, economic, scientific and technological cooperation and encourages the concerned institutions and organizations to exchange experiences and organize courses and workshops.
On his part, Prince Sultan said: “Egypt is the country of generosity and warm hospitality, and we are still making use of its ancient human heritage made by the oldest civilization of the history.”
Prince Sultan pointed out to the importance of Egypt's interactive role with the Arab countries in all fields because Egypt is the heart of the Arab nation, stressing the deep relations between the two countries and between the two brotherly peoples. He also stressed the importance of benefiting from the experiences of Egypt in the field of handicrafts to build an integral economic sector in this field .
Moreover, Prince Sultan manifested the need to benefit from the experts from both countries in this field to implement this programs and to communicate directly with artisans to improve their skills and to develop their products. “We need to guide them to the available investment opportunities and to provide them with the possible facilities through the exchange of visits between the two parties , in addition to organizing forums , weeks, meetings and activities for practitioners and stakeholders and those who are interested in this field and to find suitable mechanisms of cooperation between both countries.”
This meeting was attended by Dr. Mostafa El-Feki, the Director of The Bibliotheca Alexandrina.
It is worth noting that the Egyptian delegation included; Dr. Heba Youssef, The Head of Cultural Relations Sector, and Dr. Fathi Abdel Wahab, The Head of The Cultural Development Fund Sector.