King Salman inaugurates Janadriyah Festival
RIYADH, (DNA) – Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman opened the 33rd National Festival for Heritage and Culture (Janadriyah – 33) in a colorful ceremony on Thursday evening.
Upon arrival at the venue of the festival in Janadriyah in the northern outskirts of Riyadh, the King was received by Prince Faisal Bin Bandar, emir of Riyadh, Prince Khalid Bin Abdulaziz Bin Ayyaf, minister of the National Guard and president of the Supreme Committee of the festival, several other princes, ministers and senior officials. The theme of this year’s festival is “Faithfulness and loyalty.”
The King and other dignitaries watched the grand annual camel race and performances of folklore artists. At the end of the race, the monarch gave away prizes to the first five winners of the competition.
They are Mudakar Al-Qurashi, Jaber Al-Mori, Safar Al-Shareef, Samir Al-Mori and Khaled Al-Qurashi.
The King and the guests attended a speech ceremony and watched an operetta at an indoor hall in Janadriyah. The operetta, which is an annual fiesta expressing poetry through the melodies, performances and dances that represent all regions of the Kingdom, was a major highlight of the opening day of the festival.
Prince Khalid Bin Abdulaziz bin Ayyaf delivered a speech in which he noted that the festival highlights the Kingdom’s history since its establishment by the late King Abdul Aziz until the current era of King Salman.
The minister welcomed the Republic of Indonesia, the guest of honor of this year’s festival, saying that this would contribute to further consolidating relations between leaders and peoples of the two great nations.
Speaking on the occasion, Indonesian Coordinating Minister of Human Development and Culture Puan Maharani thanked King Salman for choosing her country as the guest of honor for the festival.
“This is a valuable gift to the government and people of Indonesia to celebrate the golden age of bilateral relations between the two countries, especially after the historic visit of King Salman to Indonesia in 2017 and this visit gave a strong political momentum in promoting bilateral relations between the two countries.” Maharani said that Indonesia has more than 17,000 islands and a population of over 260 million, accommodating more than 714 groups of different cultures and languages.
The King decorated prominent Saudi figures, who made outstanding contributions in various fields, with the King Abdulaziz Medal of the First Class. They are Dr. Ali Al-Dafaa; Abdul Fattah Abu Madiyan and Samar Bint Jaber Al-Hamoud.
The Monarch also honored the General Director of the Janadriyah Festival Saud Al-Roumi for his contributions since the first festival in 1405H until the current session; and Supervisor of the festival’s media affairs Jaber Al-Qarni for his work since the second session in 1406 H until the current session.
The King received a memento from the festival’s sponsors, presented by Chairman of Board of Directors of Saudi Arabian Airlines Dr. Ghassan Al-Shibal and Director General Saleh Al-Jasser.
At the end of the ceremony, the King and other dignitaries participated in the traditional Al-Ardah sword dance.
The King also attended a dinner banquet along with the distinguished guests, who include Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, crown prince of Kuwait, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, special envoy of Bahrain King, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, minister of foreign and international cooperation of the United Arab Emirates, and Shihab Bin Tariq Al-Said, adviser of Sultan Qaboos of Oman.
On the sidelines of the opening ceremony, King Salman inaugurated the pavilions of Indonesia as well as that of Tabuk and Al-Jouf regions. The King toured the pavilions and was briefed on their major exhibits and activities. At Indonesia’s pavilion, there were several exhibits, including photos highlighting the deep-rooted bilateral relations between the two countries that date back to several centuries in addition to videos highlighting the old Haj journey. The photos include that of late King Faisal’s visit to Indonesia in 1970 in addition to the visits of Indonesian presidents to the Kingdom.
The King was also briefed on the salient features of the Indonesian archipelago, its civilization and economic progress. The pavilion includes corners for traditional costumes and crockery, and Arabic calligraphy and manuscripts, many models of the legendary Garuda aircraft and traditional handicrafts and houses.
As part of the three-week long festival festival, a seminar on “Saudi – Indonesian relations: Horizons and Aspirations” will be held at Riyadh InterContinental Hotel on Sunday. Several prominent figures, including Saudi Ambassador to Indonesia Osama Al-Shuaibi, and Indonesian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Agus Maftuh Abegebriel, will address the event.
The Janadriyah Festival, which is the most important national event held annually to express Saudi history and prosperity, offers various events and activities, from the opening ceremony to folklore arts, operetta, seminars, cultural, literary and sport events.
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