RIYADH: On the sidelines of the fourth Saudi Media Forum, Pakistan Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar told Arab News that much could be learned from Saudi Arabia’s media sector.
“There was a time when Pakistani doctors, engineers, pilots and lawyers and different professionals would come to Saudi, train here, now it’s the other way around,” Tarar said.
“Now we are leaning from the Saudi experience.”
On the topic of digital media, the minister said: “There is a lot that we can learn.
“I think the Saudi Media Forum is an excellent initiative, which started back in 2019,” he said. “Today all of the relevant stakeholders are under one roof.
“It (the forum) is a great learning experience because we want the (global) media to witness how the Saudi society has transformed over the past few years, and seeing is believing,” he said.
“I would like to pay my compliments to the media minister, his excellency, Salman Al-Dossary, and his entire team for putting together such a great show.
“This is something (the media forum) even we need to implement in our part of the world.”
During his visit at the forum, Tarar also had a meeting with Al-Dossary, during which the two discussed ways of furthering collaboration between their two countries.
“We spoke about further collaborations, because Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are strategic partners — there is a people-to-people contact, that contact is from the heart.
“We are bound by culture, we are bound by religion, we are bound by so many common things that we have, and we discussed how we can collaborate further.”
The minister highlighted some of the areas where the two countries could work together; whether through journalist exchange programs, exchange of know-how, and collaboration in digital media.
Tarar told Arab News that since the start of his ministerial appointment, he had been to Riyadh five times in the past ten months. He jokingly added that he did not go to his hometown as often as he went to Riyadh.
“Riyadh is now the center of activity,” the minister said.
“All the action is taking place in Riyadh, and the Saudi transformation under his royal highness’s leadership is something which is phenomenal and historic,” Tarar said.
Having been to Riyadh so often and witnessed the transformation, Tarar said that he would “look back in so many years and say, ‘That when this great thing was happening, I was here.’”
Tarar said: “I have been to Riyadh five times, and the way Saudi society has transformed, I would like to compliment the vision of his royal highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the way he took forward the Vision 2030 not just as a vision, we now see that vision implemented on the ground.”
The minister underlined the transformative social changes he had witnessed from Vision 2030, such as women leading across sectors, and especially women moderating and leading conversations during the Saudi Media Forum.
During the forum, Tarar spoke during a session titled, “How Can Partnerships Between Regional and Global Media Enhance the Local Media Economy.”
In his session the minister underlined the importance of increased collaboration between local and international news outlets.
Tarar hopes that both countries can further their collaborations in media, explaining that “there are so many good stories to tell,” in Pakistan.
“I believe in joint productions with documentaries and films,” he said.
“Sixty percent of our population is based on youth under the age of 30, we can provide great entrepreneurs, film-makers, documentary-makers, artists, actors and actresses, and musicians who can really work toward the Pakistan-Saudi relationship.”
