Saudi Arabia shines at Beijing book fair

Saudi Arabia shines at Beijing book fair
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Saudi Arabia has taken center stage as guest of honor at the Beijing International Book Fair, with the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Award for Cultural Cooperation between the Kingdom and China a highlight of the event. (SPA)
Saudi Arabia shines at Beijing book fair
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Saudi Arabia has taken center stage as guest of honor at the Beijing International Book Fair, with the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Award for Cultural Cooperation between the Kingdom and China a highlight of the event. (SPA)
Saudi Arabia shines at Beijing book fair
3 / 3
Saudi Arabia has taken center stage as guest of honor at the Beijing International Book Fair, with the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Award for Cultural Cooperation between the Kingdom and China a highlight of the event. (SPA)
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Updated 22 June 2024
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Saudi Arabia shines at Beijing book fair

Saudi Arabia shines at Beijing book fair
  • The award aims to foster cultural cooperation and exchange between the two nations
  • A cultural seminar introducing the award was held on the sidelines of the five-day fair

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia has taken center stage as guest of honor at the Beijing International Book Fair, with the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Award for Cultural Cooperation between the Kingdom and China a highlight of the event.
The award, launched in March by the Saudi Minister of Culture, Prince Badr bin Farhan, aims to foster cultural cooperation and exchange between the two nations. It is divided into two categories: the cultural elite and the youth, and covers various cultural and creative fields.
A cultural seminar introducing the award was held on the sidelines of the five-day fair, which ends on Sunday. Abdul Mohsen bin Salem Al-Aqeeli, secretary-general of the award, and Fu Ji Min, dean of the faculty of languages at Peking University, took part in the seminar.
According to a statement, the award is founded on the values of openness, cultural exchange, diversity, and conscious understanding of human commonalities, and aims to invest in the rich human, symbolic, and material heritage that both countries possess.
The nomination process for the award has begun, and candidates are encouraged to apply.
The Saudi pavilion at the book fair featured a five-day cultural program, including seminars, panel discussions, displays of books, manuscripts, and archaeological artifacts, live traditional performances, and a special Saudi dinner night.
More than 1,600 exhibitors from 71 countries and regions took part in the fair, which showcased 220,000 Chinese and foreign publications.
The Beijing International Book Fair, launched in 1986, and organized by the China National Publications Import and Export Corporation, is believed to be the second-largest book fair globally, behind Frankfurt.


Najdi designs dazzle visitors at Tyn Festival in Diriyah

Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, special adviser to King Salman speaks at the event. (Supplied)
Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, special adviser to King Salman speaks at the event. (Supplied)
Updated 10 sec ago
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Najdi designs dazzle visitors at Tyn Festival in Diriyah

Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, special adviser to King Salman speaks at the event. (Supplied)
  • Located in the At-Turaif World Heritage Site in Diriyah, the event highlights the history of the city and the legacy of its mud architecture

RIYADH: Diriyah Season is welcoming visitors to explore the region’s rich history and traditional architecture through the Tyn Festival, held until mid-February.

Located in the At-Turaif World Heritage Site in Diriyah, the event highlights the history of the city and the legacy of its mud architecture, a milestone of innovation and sustainability in urban development.

The event is attracting a diverse audience, including art lovers, creatives, architects, designers, and people from all age groups who are seeking to discover Diriyah and the authentic heritage of sites such as At-Turaif.

Various forms of art are on display, as well as the materials used to build Najdi houses in the past, including clay, rocks, and wicker.

In addition, visitors at Tyn will have the opportunity to watch clips of architects explaining the steps involved in designing a Najdi home, learn about 3D-printing in design and engage in a clay workshop at the end of the tour.

“Clay is the material of the Arabian Peninsula,” noted Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, special adviser to King Salman and founder and chairman of the nonprofit Al-Turath Foundation.

During the opening of the event, Prince Sultan gave a speech on the importance of preserving heritage such as the traditional (mud) buildings that are an essential part of Saudi and Najdi culture.

“Diriyah during the 80s was an abandoned area,” he said, elaborating on the development efforts over the years to present Diriyah as the historical city that people are familiar with now.

Tyn Festival is one of many programs and activities offered by Diriyah Season to draw attention to historic sites and monuments and create a gathering place for lovers of history, culture, and art.


Syrian Arab Republic president meets with Saudi crown prince in Riyadh

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomes the President of the Syrian Arab Republic, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, in Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomes the President of the Syrian Arab Republic, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, in Riyadh.
Updated 02 February 2025
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Syrian Arab Republic president meets with Saudi crown prince in Riyadh

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomes the President of the Syrian Arab Republic, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, in Riyadh.
  • The president is accompanied by the country’s foreign minister, Asaad Hassan Al-Shaibani

RIYADH: The President of the Syrian Arab Republic, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, met with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Sunday on his first foreign trip since taking office, Saudi Press Agency reported.

Syrian Arab News Agency reported the president was accompanied by the country’s foreign minister, Asaad Hassan Al-Shaibani.

A picture posted on social media platform X by the Syrian Arab Republic’s presidency showed Al-Sharaa and Al-Shaibani en route to Saudi Arabia.

Al-Sharaa became president after the toppling of the regime of Bashar Assad in December last year.

Last month, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, visited Damascus and said the Kingdom was engaged in talks with the US and European partners to help lift economic sanctions imposed on the Syrian Arab Republic that have left the country’s economy decimated.


Tihama’s climate boosts honey production in Baha

Tihama’s climate boosts honey production in Baha
Updated 02 February 2025
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Tihama’s climate boosts honey production in Baha

Tihama’s climate boosts honey production in Baha

RIYADH: The moderate climate and abundant flowering trees in the Tihama area of the Baha region attract thousands of beekeepers with hives, creating an ideal environment for honey production from seasonal and mountainous blossoms.

Beekeeper Mohammed Al-Zahrani said that migration from the Sarawat Mountains to Tihama is driven by favorable climate, rainfall, and tree diversity, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

He added that this move revitalizes bees after the ziziphus spina-christi season when their population drops, offering fresh pastures for reproduction.

Beekeeper Ali Al-Ghamdi explained that relocating to the governorates of Qalwa, Al-Hujrah, and Wadi Al-Ahsabah provides bees with a year-round food supply and protection from the cold mountain temperatures that can be fatal.

He stressed that beekeeping requires endurance, knowledge, and experience but remains an important and valuable industry, the SPA reported.

Beekeeper Saleh Al-Omari highlighted the coordination among beekeepers in choosing apiary sites, ensuring proper spacing to prevent crossbreeding, promote nutrition, and avoid disease.

Mohammed Al-Shadwi, chairman of the Beekeepers Cooperative Association in Baha, said around 3,000 beekeepers are registered with the association, including professionals with over 1,000 hives and amateurs with about 100. They represent 16 percent of the Kingdom’s total beekeepers.

The region produces 20 percent of Saudi Arabia’s honey annually, totaling around 1,000 tonnes across 15 varieties, according to the SPA.


Saudi Arabia strengthens cultural ties at Delhi book fair

Saudi Arabia strengthens cultural ties at Delhi book fair
Updated 5 min 59 sec ago
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Saudi Arabia strengthens cultural ties at Delhi book fair

Saudi Arabia strengthens cultural ties at Delhi book fair

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission is taking part in the New Delhi World Book Fair, being held at Pragati Maidan from Feb. 1-9.

Its involvement is part of ongoing efforts to strengthen cultural cooperation between the Kingdom and India, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Sunday.

The commission aims to highlight Saudi Arabia’s role in the global cultural and literary landscape, raise awareness of its heritage and highlight its publications and contribution to the international literary scene. It also seeks to promote cultural and intellectual exchange between the two countries.

The commission’s pavilion features its literary and cultural initiatives, including “Tarjim” which supports Saudi Arabia’s translation movement. It also hosts sections dedicated to the King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language and the King Fahd National Library.

Saudi Arabia was previously guest of honor at the 2024 New Delhi World Book Fair, where it organized various programs and events reflecting the Kingdom’s cultural and creative landscape.


KSrelief’s humanitarian and relief efforts continue

KSrelief’s humanitarian and relief efforts continue
Updated 02 February 2025
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KSrelief’s humanitarian and relief efforts continue

KSrelief’s humanitarian and relief efforts continue

RIYADH: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center’s (KSrelief) humanitarian and relief efforts continue with the distribution of food, hygiene supplies as well as the provision of emergency transport services.

In in Ma’arrat Misrin of Syria’s Idlib Governorate, KSrelief handed out 672 food boxes and 672 hygiene kits as part of the second phase of the food aid and hygiene kit distribution project for populations affected by the earthquake in 2025.

In Lebanon’s Akkar Governorate and Miniyeh district, the aid agency during the past week distributed 175,000 bags of bread to Syrian and Palestinian refugees as well as residents of host communities. The initiative was part of the fourth phase of Al-Amal Charitable Bakery Project in the country.

In the Battagram and Buner districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, as well as the Sukkur district in Sindh province of Pakistan, 2,160 food packages were given to families in flood-affected areas as part of the Food Security Support Project 2025

Meanwhile, KSrelief delivered 125 tonnes of dates to Sudan as a gift from the Kingdom.

In north Lebanon, the KSrelief-funded ambulance service of Subul Al-Salam Social Association in the Miniyeh district carried out 61 missions during the past week, including transporting patients to and from hospitals and treating burn injuries.