This was announced during an opening ceremony of Turkish pavilion at Janadriya village Wednesday night. Turkey is privileged to be the first foreign state to be the guest country at this year’s festival.
Speaking on the occasion Prince Miteb ibn Abdullah, assistant deputy commander of the National Guard and deputy chairman of the Supreme Steering Committee of the festival, said inviting countries outside the Gulf region as guests of honor to the national festival at Janadriya was “a new idea to help foster peaceful co-existence and dialogue between people of different countries and races.”
France will be followed by Russia, which will be the guest country in 2010, he said.
“France has been given this honor because Saudi-French relations are longstanding and have progressed well over the last decade,” said a member of the Janadriya organizing committee.
“The growing relationship in all sectors, including culture and tourism, has made France one of the oldest allies of the Kingdom,” he added.
Referring to the selection of Russia as another guest country, he said that the two countries have established strong cultural ties following the visit of President Vladimir Putin to Saudi Arabia. He said that the cultural ties would enable Saudis to read literary works of Russian writers, while Russians will have access to the masterpieces of Arab world.
“Cultural exchanges with these countries will strengthen the relations further,” said Prince Miteb.
Asked about the Turkish participation in the festival, Turkish Ambassador Naci Koru said: “Our participation offers a great opportunity to visitors to understand the culture and history of our country. Since morning yesterday, hundreds of thousands of Saudis and expatriates have visited our pavilion, which reflect the keen desire of the people to understand Turkey as a country with rich cultural history and heritage.”
Minister of Culture and Information Iyad Madani and Turkish Minister of Tourism and Culture Ertugrul Gunay attended the inaugural ceremony of the Turkish pavilion Wednesday night. The pavilion was opened for visitors /yesterday morning.
The prince and the ministers invited visitors to Janadriya to come and watch varied exhibits at the Turkish pavilion. They said that the festival would witness every year the participation of a new state.
The festival is open for men until March 14, while it will remain open for women on March 17, 18 and 19 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. There are adequate security arrangements at the venue. All roads leading to the festival village are being regularly patrolled by the mobile police units.
