RIYADH: Saudi authorities publicly unveiled their new Global Harmony Initiative on Wednesday night during an official launch event in Riyadh.
The aim of the initiative, announced earlier this week, is to celebrate and showcase the diverse range of nationalities and cultures among residents of the Kingdom by exploring their professional and family lives, social and recreational activities, contributions to the economy, success stories and cultural integration into Saudi society, organizers said.
The project, a collaboration between the Quality of Life Program, Saudi Vision 2030, the General Entertainment Authority and The Ministry of Media, will include a range of events, performances and shows during Riyadh Season showcasing the cuisines, cultures, fashions, music and heritage of countries including Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Yemen, Syria, Palestine, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, the Philippines and Bangladesh.
Wednesday’s event, which took place at the Movenpick Hotel and was hosted by journalist Fatma Fahad, featured a video presentation that highlighted the pivotal messages of the initiative, including “No language or culture separates us” and “Saudi Arabia will remain your land and its people are your people.”
After the ceremony, Abdulrahman Majrashi, president of the Center for Government Communication and official spokesperson of the Ministry of Media, told Arab News: “The events will take place in Suwaidi park with the support of the General Entertainment Authority.”
India’s ambassador to the Kingdom, Suhel Ajaz Khan, told Arab News: “I think it’s a wonderful program; it’s a program to strengthen the bonds between the expatriate communities and the Saudi society. It’s a great initiative.
“We are very happy that the Ministry of Media is taking this step, in association with other agencies, to launch this initiative. It’s a very, very positive and commendable step.
“We have the largest expat community (in Saudi Arabia): 2.6 million people. The Indian community is increasing. In fact, in the past year alone we got 200,000 more people. And I think the numbers speak for themselves. You know, they are here because they feel respected, they feel welcome, they feel at home.”
Khan added that as part of its participation in the initiative, India will host a nine-day cultural festival in Suwaidi Park.
Speaking about his own experience of living in Saudi Arabia, he said: “The quality of life has been great.
“All of us are witness to the amazing transformation that is taking place in the Kingdom, socially and economically, the kind of economic growth which is there in the Kingdom, the kind of opportunities which are there.
“I think everyone is very, very interested in Saudi Arabia’s story, and relations between India and Saudi Arabia are on a very, very solid footing. We are doing a lot of things together across many domains; in the political and the economic, trade, investment, defense, culture, people-to-people contact, we are very, very optimistic about our bilateral relations.”
Abdulaziz Ahmad, Indonesia’s ambassador to the Kingdom, said: “I think this initiative is very good. We appreciate this event.”
He said he hopes to see the project expand in future and added: “We know Saudi Arabia is growing very fast; faster and faster, right now, under the leadership of King Salman and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.
“We appreciate this kind of progress and we hope that this kind of progress will give more prosperity for Saudi people, and also give more benefits for bilateral relations between Saudi (Arabia) and the Republic of Indonesia.”
A 2022 census revealed that about 13 million expatriates live in Saudi Arabia, about 40 percent of the total population of 33 million.