Day: October 3, 2021

Riyadh, Under various folkloric shows, the picturesque floodlights decorated in green, and the very striking design, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai welcomes its visitors with its high-rise facade and unique design, as the young Saudi men and women welcome guests with a wide smile drawn on their faces, reflecting the generosity of the Saudi hospitality and rich culture.

Since its day one, the Saudi pavilion succeeded in attracting visitors through a set of interactive models and lights that revealed the pavilion’s multi-dimensional content based on four main pillars: a vibrant community, heritage, nature, and opportunities, which allowed the pavilion to win unprecedented numbers of visitors such as the “digital fountain” which the visitors get the chance to witness as they enter into the pavilion on their way to a group of curved engineering stairs leading to the main reception hall, which embraces a curved display screen with an area of 68 square meters, and displays five ecosystems in the Kingdom including the green landscapes of Wadi Al-Bardani, the charm of the coasts of Farasan Island, the deserts of the Empty Quarter, the shores of the Red Sea, and the mountains of Tabuk.

As they continue to proceed, the visitors of the Saudi pavilion, through the long electric stairs, and in an atmosphere of special visual and audio effects, witness a unique opportunity to embark on another journey showing the ancient past of the Kingdom on both sides of the stairs, and allowing visitors a chance to explore by simulating models of around 14 heritage and cultural sites, built and designed on both sides, allowing them to get acquainted with famous Saudi heritage sites, including the five sites included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, such as Al-Turaif neighborhood, Al-Hajar, Historic Jeddah, and rock art in Hail region and Al-Ahsa Oasis.

Upon reaching the end of the electric stairs, and after passing through the heritage sites, visitors go through an audio-visual journey to 23 sites that represent the richness and diversity in the various regions of the Kingdom, and the harmonious relationship between the Kingdom’s 13 regions, reflecting the country’s demographic diversity that contributed to its cultural and human richness as each region has its advantages and unique environment, starting with the Grand Mosque, the ancient village of Thee Ain, the Shaybah oil field, the Farasan Islands, Wadi Al-‘Ula, and Al-Wahba crater, passing through heritage and contemporary sites such as the Tantora Balloon Festival and the Maraya Concert Hall in Al-Ula, all the way to the Jeddah Waterfront, the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh, and the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center.

After the aforementioned unique experience, visitors will enjoy an escalator topped with 2030 ” Scenographic” crystals, symbolizing the “Saudi Vision 2030”, accompanied by a window overlooking the most important giant projects of the Kingdom that are currently being implemented, such as the Qiddiya project, the Diriyah Gate development project, and the Red Sea project, in addition to other vibrant development projects that are being implemented as per environmentally friendly concepts such as King Salman Park project, and “Saudi Green Initiative” and “Middle East Green Initiative” projects.

The Saudi pavilion also includes the “Vision” art exhibition, which includes a multi-faceted 30-meter giant ball, with an interactive digital floor, highlighting the essence of Saudi culture prepared by a group of Saudi artists and creators who worked on designing these digital paintings that come together to form an integrated panel bearing all the elements of success and continuity, and prepares visitors to move towards the investment opportunities center, which explores fruitful and diversified partnerships with major Saudi leading companies and institutions and contains six vertical information incubators that provide extensive information on economy and investment, energy, nature and tourism, people and homeland, transformation, art, and culture.

Moreover, the pavilion offers a nature side that has been devoted to a wide outdoor space represented in the palm garden canopies, where the pavilion is adorned with two hanging gardens, surrounded by palm trees and plants that can be found in different Saudi ecosystems, which were transferred directly from the various regions of the Kingdom, and shipped according to special environmental standards to the Kingdom’s pavilion at the “Expo 2020 Dubai”.

Also, the Saudi pavilion provides visitors with various Saudi flavors and traditional dishes, as well as various types of Arabic coffee for which the regions of the Kingdom are famous, in addition to the antiques and souvenir shop, which has witnessed a great turnout since the first day.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh, Acting Minister of Media Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi on Saturday paid a visit to Riyadh International Book Fair (RIBF) 2021.

He began the visit with a tour of the pavilion of the Republic of Iraq, the guest of honor of this year’s RIBF, where he was briefed on the pavilion and its contents.

During the tour, Dr. Al-Qasabi underscored the depth of the historical relations between the Kingdom and Iraq at all levels, citing the cultural and scientific partnership between the two countries as it has a deep dimension of knowledge sharing.

He further said, “Iraq is the state of civilization and history and there are important ties and a unified social fabric between us and Iraq. We are honored to have the state of Iraq at Riyadh International Book Fair and we look forward to more cooperation between the two countries in everything that enriches Arab, Islamic and global culture,”

Dr. Al-Qasabi added, “His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense had previously honored me to chair the Saudi-Iraqi Coordination Council, and I believe that cooperation between the Kingdom and Iraq will be better.”

Then, the acting Minister of Media toured RIBF, where he visited a number of international and local publishing houses and met its visitors, including Saudi and Arab intellectuals, authors and writers.

Dr. Al-Qasabi affirmed that Riyadh International Book Fair is an important global cultural center for all segments of society, as it contributes to strengthening cultural aspects among countries, especially since the Kingdom has hosted many countries in the fair throughout its history, which enabled the exchange of cultural and intellectual aspects in an atmosphere of love and peace to all the world.

Source: Saudi Press Agency